There are little things that just annoy me. I am, after all, human. Though I am encouraged to walk in the Spirit, I still battle with the flesh. Today, the flesh got the better of me because something simple really burnt my biscuit! For clarification, in case you were not raised in the South – if someone butters your biscuit, it means they did something nice and all is well. It’s the equivalent of “you made my day” or “that made my day”. However, to have your biscuit burnt means you are mad! As in, “that really makes me want to throat punch someone.”

Let’s first come to the agreement that crosswalks are in place for a reason – safety. I value safety, ergo I use crosswalks. It annoys me when people don’t. Today, I watched a young man walk just a few steps beyond the crosswalk and opt instead to cross a busy street literally just feet from the crosswalk. He walked right past the crosswalk to jeopardize his life. What was he thinking?

Probably the young man was thinking the same thing we are thinking when we deliberately neglect Biblical principles. Those consequences are not for me. It won’t happen to me. How often do we walk right past the provisions of Christ and, instead, risk everything for a moment of ignorance and maybe even excitement? I do it far more than I care to admit and, probably much like the young man, I’ve done it so often that I probably don’t even consider what I am doing when I repeat my error. It is just what I have always done.

I truly doubt the young man walked past the crosswalk thinking, “Oh yea, I’m a rebel. Watch as I defy the law and endanger my life.” Yet, that’s what he did. That’s what we do, too. We’ve become comfortable in complacency and often lean heavily upon our own ideologies to the neglect of Scripture. We fail to apply Biblical principles to our professional and personal lives without thought. We are unintentional rebels – we are foolish.

It’s not difficult to pick up our Bibles and read a few passages each day. It’s easy, really. The problem is that it is also easy not to do so. It’s not hard to walk a few feet to the crosswalk, but it’s also easy not to do so. So, we must make a decision. If we use the crosswalk, we are offered more safety. The odds are in our favor that we will cross the street without negative impact. Comparatively, by choosing not to use the crosswalk, we may make it across the street but there is considerably more at stake. In the same way, by adhering to Biblical principles in our lives, crossing the street becomes less stressful because we are crossing in the security and provisions of Christ.

I may never be able to see someone ignore a crosswalk without experiencing distress. I’m serious, it really just irritates me so bad! But I will also be reminded that I have often ignored the safety of God’s provisions and extend grace as grace has been extended to me. Having said that, if you catch yourself ignoring a crosswalk and look up and see a little red car literally explode with flames from the driver’s seat, please know that it is a direct result of my blood pressure going through the roof. Be blessed and be safe.