Running a red light is embarrassing to admit, and if we do admit to it, we do so reluctantly. This is probably because when we’ve seen other drivers accelerate through red lights, we’ve mumbled something about them being a fool because they are totally disregarding human life—all because of their thoughtless impatience. But when we’ve done it ourselves, we surmise that it didn’t happen because of a premeditated desire to risk our lives or the lives of others. It rather happened because of something called “impetuosity.”
The dictionary defines this as “doing things suddenly, without considering the results of your actions.” And that perfectly sums up what happens when we plow through a red light. The results of human thoughtlessness are sobering. These stats are just from the US: “In 2022, 1,149 people were killed in crashes that involved red light running.… [And] more than 107,000 people were injured in red light running crashes.”
Our Christian life is filled with red lights. Jesus told us what happens when we see a warning light and choose to ignore it: “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23)
This verse is a warning as to what happens when we move past impetuosity into premeditation. We see the light change at a distance and deliberately choose to accelerate. We can see this happening with Cain’s plot to kill his brother, with Joseph’s brothers planning to sell him into slavery, with David’s adultery with Bathsheba, and with the Judas’ betrayal of Jesus—among many other premeditated acts. Each of these incidents is a warning to us to never move into the frightening realm of premeditation. To do so is to extinguish the light of conscience, and when that happens, our whole body becomes full of darkness.
There are at least two ways to stop ourselves from running red lights. The first is to consider the consequences. Imagine a sweet young mother and her two children are killed because they are in the car you hit. Imagine seeing their bloodied and lifeless bodies being cut from their crushed vehicle. Imagine facing the broken husband and father in court and never being able to forget his look of pure hatred of you for taking the lives of his precious wife and children. And all this horror happened because of your momentary impatience.
The second way to stop yourself from running a red light is to determine to never let impatience steal your good sense. Resolve to, without exception, put your foot on the brake rather than the accelerator when you see that light turning red.
Then, do the same two things when it comes to sin. Firstly, think of sin’s terrible consequences. Imagine letting the subtlety of lust into your heart and having it lead you into adultery. Imagine betraying your spouse and kids. Imagine destroying your Christian testimony. And, on top of that, imagine the seriousness of sinning against God. And it all happened because you failed to fear God—which is the beginning of wisdom—and to fear the consequences of sin. And that led you into premeditation. Determine to never let that happen.
