Have you ever been driving along smoothly on the freeway, only to be slowed down by what seems to be a major traffic jam? When this happens, in your mind you begin to ask, “What’s going on?” “Did an accident occur?” “Is someone seriously hurt?” Or better yet, “How many lanes are closed ahead due to construction?”
As you ponder over these questions, you slowly arrive at the main point of obstruction, only to find that there is no obstruction! All you see is the person in the car ahead of you staring at a car on the shoulder that has nothing more than a flat tire.
If this has happened to you, like it has to me, you too probably became upset when you found out that it was just a series of “gawkers” that were keeping you from moving forward at your desired pace. Gawkers can be defined as individuals who slow down to stare at a situation with no intention of getting involved to rectify it. Unbeknownst to them, gawkers have the potential of causing major traffic jams while in the process of trying to satisfy their curiosity.
In general, life is full of individuals who slow down just long enough to look at a seemingly bad situation, but never have any intention of saying or doing anything about it. Consequently, many lives are held up, and potentially detoured because nothing was done about the problem prior to them moving along the same path.
Children have been held back because adults who have traveled ahead of them, have just looked at challenging circumstances, but never did anything about them. Nations have been held back because leaders have just talked about problems, with no intention of taking action to solve them. And potentially, the world can be held back because we, as human beings, have done nothing more than slow down periodically to view what’s wrong, rather than taking the initiative to do what’s right.
If one gawker has the potential to bring a freeway full of cars to a halt, then just think about the impact that everyday life gawkers can have on a world full of people. Then ask, “Am I a cause of life’s traffic jam for others coming along behind me?”
Pastor Corey
