This couldn’t be happening. How could I have ignored a plain, four-lettered sign reading S-T-O-P?
In decades of driving, I had never been responsible for more than a fender bender in a parking lot. Never mind my excuse, absentmindedly thinking I was on a parallel street that didn’t have a stop sign at Chestnut. The simple fact was that I had failed to observe a very useful, common sense traffic rule.
Crossing a street isn't a crime, of course, but responsible drivers always double-check to make sure they have the right-of-way and that the intersection is clear.
My lesson? Never underestimate the importance of a good traffic sign.
Even more important than traffic laws, however, are the rules for living handed down from Mount Sinai over three thousand years ago. For example, the one,“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Like the others, this isn’t a mere suggestion, but a direct command handed down from the highest possible authority, our Creator.
And for good reason. Those who ignore it typically experience the pain of wrecked lives, broken marriages and shattered dreams. The painful and unforeseen consequences of infidelity go on and on, affecting not only the two affairees, but their families, friends, congregations and communities.
By far the best cure is prevention. Common sense tells us to avoid those slippery paths that take us from fantasizing to obsessing, from flirting to outright sneaking around, from rationalizing and making excuses to having ones whole life becoming a deception.
Is healing possible after the trauma of adultery?
Thank God the answer is yes, much like I was able to get my aging and wrecked Audi on the road again after some drastically needed body work. And my State Farm insurance, like amazing grace, covered the cost of restoring the other vehicle to its nearly new condition.
I’ll still always wish I had observed that simple red sign on the corner of Sunset and Chestnut.
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