Lately a thought has nagged at the back of my mind that just might change my entire life: do something.
Thinking about the New Testament this month, and specifically focusing on acting on our faith has prompted conviction in my heart. There is so much more I could be doing, and don’t because of laziness, fear, and selfishness.
If you’re anything like me, you know how easy to look the other way when something is uncomfortable, or to just let things pass when your friends bring up something you disagree with. And what about when your neighbours have a screaming match on the street? Isn’t it so much more fun to watch the show from the safety of your balcony and go inside once you’re bored, not even wondering if there’s something you should do?
It’s a lot less work to only care about yourself, but if you live like this, you’re not fulfilling Jesus’ command to love one another. In fact, Mark 12:29-31 says the greatest commands in all of Scripture are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbours as ourselves.
All month these convictions intensified and finally culminated a couple weeks ago when, while on my way to work, I witnessed a fender bender. My first instinct was to continue on. It wasn’t a serious accident and it looked like everyone was OK.
Immediately I felt shame. In my heart I knew I was, once again, looking the other way; taking the easy way out. So, I pulled over, ran across the road, and introduced myself. You know what? There were five or six cars at the intersection when the accident occurred and yet I was the only one to pull over. And I wasn’t going to.
What if someone was hurt? What if the driver at fault took off? What did it harm me to stop and check, other than being a few minutes late?
After passing over my contact information and ensuring everyone was, in fact, OK, the woman who was hit said, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” I don’t know if she does but what I do know is how glad I am that I stopped and, finally, did something.
And you know what? I wasn’t even late for work.
By Robyn Roste
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