Our Failures Are on Display

A "Letter to the Editor" which recently appeared in my local newspaper, The West Plains Daily Quill, left me stunned and puzzled after I read it. A man from Florida told of his initial intent to make a donation to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Joplin in my home state of Missouri. He had written the check but forgot to mail it before he left on vacation. While driving through our area on his way home from Iowa, someone in an SUV with a Missouri license plate cut him off in traffic, causing him to swerve and "miss his exit entirely."

He concludes his letter by saying, "Upon arrival home I went to my desk where I voided the entry in my checkbook register, then opened the envelope and shredded the check. It takes only one bad apple to spoil the bushel. That SUV driver was the one."

After reading the details, I found it difficult to imagine why he was motivated to be charitable in the first place (perhaps for a tax deduction; he did feel the need to also mention he was driving a new car with less than 2,000 miles on the odometer), but it is mind boggling that his philanthropic impulse would be squelched so easily. (His car was not damaged, and missing the exit he mentioned, likely required a detour of five minutes or less to get back on track.) Deciding to "punish" Joplin because of the actions of one inconsiderate Missouri driver requires quite a leap in logical thinking.

It reminds me of those who reject Jesus because his followers don't always live up to his teachings. If Red Cross officials could somehow magically have made that SUV driver do the right thing on the highway so the Florida man would have gone ahead with his donation, I'm sure they would have done so. Similarly, Jesus can't force believers to do the right thing, either; the choices we make every day are ours alone.

And while the choices are ours, we need to remember our choices often affect others, and when we make poor decisions, someone will almost always be watching. It's not fair that Joplin got gypped because of a bad motorist, but that is, unfortunately, the way some people think. And it may not be fair that we need to be on our best behavior because others are watching, but it is a fact of life and why we should strive to be better every day. But if you ever see me do something silly in traffic, I hope you'll give me the benefit of the doubt, and also, don't blame Jesus; he's not the one doing the driving.