True story…
A few weeks ago, at the place where I work, we had a construction project going to replace the asphalt in the area between the main parking lot and the facility entrance. This was going to require all the foot traffic to go out the sidewalk by the road, increasing the walk by about 100 feet.
I set up orange cones and caution tape all around the unsafe area, accompanied by signs giving people directions on how to get where they were trying to go, safely. I did the best I could to make sure there was no doubt about which way traffic should go and which way they should not go. I even stood out in the parking lot to try to help those who were confused and give them guidance.
At first most were pleasant about it and understood and would turn toward the road where the sidewalk was. There were some though, that wanted to walk straight through, even though there was heavy equipment operating through the area, and the asphalt was being torn out, and the ground was unlevel and rocky. 100 feet, to be safe, didn’t seem that far to me, but I continually had to stop people who were going under the tape, ignoring all the signs, and stepping into the dangerous area. Anytime I turned my back for a minute, I’d look out and there would be people walking straight through, right by all the tractors and trucks, putting themselves at risk for injury or even death!
“What’s wrong with these people!”, I kept asking myself and my co-worker. “100 feet! All the warnings of danger in place, the caution tape, the orange cones, the signs! Are they in that much of a hurry? Do they think that it doesn’t apply to them? Are they just not paying attention?” There was nothing more I could do. All the signs were there and they could see with their own eyes that it just wasn’t safe. Why? Some people were even getting down right ugly when I redirected them to the detour. Waving me off and saying things under their breath as they walked away. One guy that was in the middle of the construction area told me not to “insult his intelligence” and insisted there was no warnings! It was unbelievable!
By day four of the project, about midday, I was done. I couldn’t do it anymore. Nobody wanted to listen. I was tired of being treated like I was some dummy, or a mean person. I quit. The signs were all there. They were on their own.
I sat in the shop, looking out the window, watching everyone ignore all the signs, saying “why, why won’t they obey the signs, why won’t they listen”. My co-worker came in and saw that I was upset and told me not to let it bother me…that I shouldn’t get mad about it. I told him, “I not mad but just very disappointed in people. Why would they ignore all the signs of danger?” I said, “It’s ok,
there has to be something I can learn from this. Don’t they know that all I’m trying to do is keep them safe?”
That’s when it hit me. This is how God feels when He looks down on us. He has put out the caution tape and cones (The Bible). All the signs are in place. He even puts people in our path (pastors, friends, family). He has done everything He possibly can to keep us safe because He loves us, and what do we do? We ignore all the signs and warnings, even the people He puts in our lives. We want to do it our way, the easy way, the quick way. We see the caution tape, we grab it, lift it over our head, and walk right into the middle of an unsafe area. Will something bad happen every time? Absolutely not! That’s how we get comfortable in our sin. Hey, if I got away with it once with no consequences, I can do it again, right? It’s like playing Russian roulette with our lives…our future.
God had given me a chance to see the world through His eyes. To experience the pain and grief that He feels every time we step under the caution tape right into the middle of danger. My frustration turned into blessing as I realized He had taken the time to show me how He feels, so I might understand and share it with others.
The good news is this…I gave up on the people, He will never give up on us. I left the people to their own fate…God walks beside us even in our sin. He has the amazing ability to love us no matter what we do. I , for one, am so thankful for that.
So look into your hard times closely, there might just be a lesson in it for you. It might just change your perspective on life!
One more thing…if any of those people who walked under the tape had gotten hurt, guess who they would have blamed for it? That’s right, my employer. They would have had lawyers in place in no time, wanting someone else to pay for their mistake.
So who do we blame when bad things happen in our lives…..that’s right, we blame God.
Think about it.
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