| If you’ve ever wished you could figure out a way to avoid being stuck in traffic, you’ve got to hand it to Jason Niccum, the Denver man who found a slick way to make it into work on time. He went on eBay and bought an electronic device that changes traffic lights to green according to his whims.
Of course, it’s illegal to misuse the gadget, which is designed for emergency crews to expedite their fire and ambulance runs. He was apprehended thanks to Joe Olson, the traffic engineer who was fielding hundreds of calls from people backed up at the intersection Niccum sailed through each day.
His defense?
“I’m always running late.”
The engineer set up a camera at the problem intersection and noticed a white Ford Explorer making the green light each day at 7:35 a.m. Olson said, “It may sound comical, but he was getting to work at the expense of thousands of others.”
I think about how I sometimes take matters into my own hands without regard to how my actions may impact others, and certainly without thinking of the plans that God has in mind in my traffic jams in life.
One of the most vivid illustrations of this dark side to human nature resonates from viewing “The Passion of the Christ.” It’s always struck me as a puzzle—how did the crowd go from “Hosanna” on Palm Sunday to “Crucify Him” less than a week later?
If you understand that they thought they were cheering a conquering king as Jesus entered Jerusalem, it’s easy to see why they might have suddenly lost faith as they watched His humiliation and torture unfolding. When He failed to meet their expectations of what a king should be, they decided he deserved to die.
I don’t see myself as especially rebellious in my attitude toward God and how He sees fit to bless me or not. But I often do rebel in my heart to circumstances that don’t meet my expectations. I’m not perhaps as clever as Jason Niccum to find a device that allows me to have my own way rather than adjust to life around me. But I would just as soon have my expectations met regardless of who gets hurt.
Some of the drivers Niccum stalled out are no doubt upset that he was fined a mere $50 for his offense—he’s out the $100 he paid for the device which was confiscated too. How much easier to just wake up earlier!
As for me and my expectations, may I go out of my way to give God the green light. Lord, have your own way with me today.
Kim Jeffries is host of “Along the Way” on KTIS AM 900.
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