On Tuesday I appeared in court for the latest of my installments of “stupid tax.” Fortunately I learned a couple lessons along the way… and received a nice break from “The Man”.

I was leaving Celebrate Recovery a couple weeks ago and was pretty down on myself for various things so I left before the post-meeting desserts and socializing. I felt a prompting to stay, but I sold myself the excuse that my wife wasn’t feeling well so I was going to see her. She is in the “wiped out” phase of pregnancy where a couple flights of stairs or a substantially-sized sandwich is enough to get her winded. Nonetheless, I was just being dishonest with myself.

On my way home I came up on a motorcycle cop who was going below the speed limit. I moved around to pass, which was my first mistake. Never pass a police officer.

1. Because he probably knows the speed limit better than I do
2. I’ve known many police officers since my alma mater had a huge police admin/counter-terrorism program, and nearly every police officer (or any person, really) has a bit of an ego problem

I happened to meet a police officer who met both of those criteria. I tried to get over since my exit was coming up, and he kept right off my bumper so I couldn’t get over. I sped up a bit, and he sped up. It was like in “Race for your Life Charlie Brown where Charlie and Peppermint Patty are doing something like a coin toss, but instead each keeps moving their hands up the baseball bat until one gets to the top. (Anyone remember what that game is called?) Instead of just stomping on my brakes, I kept up at this game until I went over the magical limit.

“Berry Flashing Those High Beams…”

Yup, I got pulled over. I didn’t even think about my speed, just about this guy who wouldn’t let me over. The officer was then rediculously rude to me even though I was very polite on the side of the road. This was a bit ironic, because I had just been sharing (bragging, really) a few days before about how I almost always got out of tickets when I got pulled over. Since that brief and passing conversation with a friend came to mind almost immediately after the police officer walked back to his bike, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lord kept me from having favor in that situation to learn a more important lesson. Stuff like that happened in the Old Testament. I bet it still does.

1. Keep my mouth shut when I don’t get what I deserve and enjoy God’s blessing instead of taking credit.
2. Don’t look at speed limits as something I can push. Since I have a kid on the way it’s a lesson I’ll have to learn sooner than later. It’s a bit funny since the kids in my family mercilessly rode my Dad about how little old ladies walking on the side of the road passed our car on the highway. Dad, I officially and sincerely apologize (lol)

Back to my meltdown… I was absolutely furious with that cop and I proceded to let it ruin my entire weekend. It was obvious at my next men’s group that I still had some unforgiveness issues. I also hadn’t fully come to grips with my own fault in the matter. I then took responsibility when talking to the guys in group.

Did that cop intentionally do something wrong? I strongly believe so, since we were the only two cars on the road. Should he have done that as an officer of the peace? No.

Better questions should be asked, though.

• Is he a human? Yes.
• Is he a sinner? Yes.
• Then, why do I judge him when the Lord has forgiven me? Uh…

It was wrong for me to break the law even if I felt baited into it. I should have slowed down - my fault 100%. I also should not hold anyone else to a higher standard than myself.

Our Pastor talked about money management this weekend and said that ultimately no one else is truly worried about our welfare other than us. He didn’t say that to discount the good intentions of loved ones, but rather to make the point that we have to accept responsibility for our actions. No matter what someone else does (or doesn’t do) to us, we are solely accountable to man and God.

I forgave the police officer. Hopefully people have forgiven me when I abused a position of power or level of trust. Jesus did, and so I must do the same. This finally clicked in my heart. I had been finally dealing with some issues of frustration regarding people in my past. Now I really felt that I could forgive them. Even if people did me 100% wrong, why do I think that they wouldn’t? We are all sinners worthy of death on the cross. Fortunately Jesus took that fate for us.

Takeaway…

Do you have some unforgiveness in your heart because of a falsely-held set of standards that other people should live by? I think we all do at some point in our lives, and have to keep fighting the lies of the enemy when people inevitably dissapoint us. It starts with complaining and builds from there, so be watchful.

Repentance for Unforgiveness and Pride

I went up during our time of worship to ask for prayer from some elders in the area of unforgiveness and pride and it really cemented what the Lord placed in my heart. I can’t even tell you how much Celebrate recovery has done in all areas in my life. It has been a long road since March/April, but it has been a relatively easy ride thanks to the power of God and the help of my friends in Christ.

Instead of paying the ticket I went to court to plead guilty - nice lesson in humility. Besides, I heard they knock down the ticket if you show up in person. The concept didn’t make much sense to me at first, since I figured that not going to court saves the county money. Then, I considered that much government work is really a jobs program. Court was a breeze - I showed up in court in a suit and got mistaken by the baliff for a lawer (hee hee!) and nearly got to skirt the metal detectors. I was in the courtroom for about 2 minutes, met a nice guy in lline when paying my fine, and sure enough the trial officer cut my points and fine in half if I could pay that day. Ka-ching!

To recap, the “formula” of how God helped me release unforgiveness and pride

1. Honesty with self
2. Admitting my wrongs to God and to another person (my men’s group)
3. Asking God to remove my shortcomings (pride and unforgiveness)
4. Being obedient to God’s way of righting the wrong (showing up in court)
5. Support from others through prayer
6. Maintenance (keep free from criticism and negative conversations)

In the end, my wallet was $77 dollars lighter, driving record is two points heavier. When I think about it though, learning how to release unforgiveness and pride and having an opportunity to help someone short-cut my mistakes in life is a lesson I would probably pay for again.

Have a blessed day.

Categories: Good News, Wisdom
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