I have never understood the attraction of good girls to bad boys. Maybe
the old saying “good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere else,” has some
truth to it. And Sarah was a good girl, and also the secretary of Mr. Levy,
Vice President of the company BH and I worked for. We were housed in the upper
offices, like junior execs, having an air of sophistication the rank and file
didn’t have. An also access to all the secretaries...whom BH dated, and I
avoided. An old rule of thumb, never date anyone you work with, guiding me.
But when the girls saw my custom van, a big deal in 1974 corporate America,
Sarah wanted to go for a ride in it, left some hints, and all but asked me for a
ride, something good girls didn’t do. Because she was a good girl. But being
cornered outside Mr. Levy’s office by her, I did the unthinkable, and made a
date, but not a date, just to go for a ride. Not sure if I was breaking my rule
or not, or if Sarah had a dark side where she liked bad boys, I was hoping she
just liked the van. So picking her up at home, she still lived with her parents,
and passing the “he’s OK for not being Italian, or Catholic,” she was very much
both and old school even then, we took a ride for ice cream, and were heading
back when the flashing red lights came on. And you know the drill...
It seems Jersey cops loved to pull over young guys and harass us, and this
guy was no exception. I was being pulled over for going too slow, 25 in a 35,
and having out of state plates. One look at Sarah, and I could see the panic in
her, I really was a bad boy, a possible felon, and she was about to be
arrested. Not a word was said, as I answered all the questions, and was finally
let go, with the “I could give you a ticket, but I’m letting you off this
time.” So this was a regular event I’m sure she thought. And I took her home,
a very quiet, uneasy ride. I had broken my rule, dated but not a date with a
girl from work, and my name would be mud the next day. I should have known a
car like that would get me into trouble, and I had no idea what awaited me the
next day.
I was greeted by my secretary, Bernie, “Sarah told us all about your date
last night.” It wasn’t a date. And the story Sarah had told was not what I had
expected. She had been scared, but I had been a gentleman, it was a bad cop,
and she had a new found respect for me. I was respectful, how was I going to
live that one down? But she had nothing but good things to say about me, and
somehow she felt closer to me, having had her initial brush with the law with
me. Me, who rode motorcycles and had long hair, who shared an apartment with BH
who chased and caught anything in a skirt, and I was respectable? I had been
afraid of losing my job over it, and here she made me out to be a hero. Even my
coworkers felt bad for me getting pulled over, they too had fears for Sarah
going on a date with me, it wasn’t a date! Like Walter, my boss told me, “ a
car like that will surely get you into trouble.” He had no idea.....
Proverbs 18:17 tells us that every story seems right, until it is
examined. Meaning until you hear the other guys’ version of the story. I was
so sure I was going to be pilloried, but Sarah’s version of what had happened
was surprisingly accurate. I had seen things through her innocent eyes, who had
seen me innocent, only the police were the accusers, and they dismissed the case
for lack of evidence. But without harassment. How many times have we jumped to
conclusions, only to find that when the real story, the truth comes out, we are
vindicated. My friends were so sure a car like my van would get me into
trouble, I was prejudged, found guilty, and sentenced, before my date. Which
wasn’t a date! As a Christian man, how many of us had wrong impressions of Jesus
before we were saved? My take was of a hippie looking guy, in sandals and long
hair, carrying a sheep under his arm, and doing good things. But giving us a
set of rules, robbing us of all our fun, and turning us into freaks. Remember
the Jesus freaks, I was one, sorta. But we find true peace in the spirit, where
the only law is love, and we can make the choices based on Jesus. The last
fruit of the spirit being self control, that one, the one that reveals who Jesus
is in our life by the decisions we make. Yet our churches are filled with
McChristians, or mechanical Christians, who prejudge the rest of us, who never
know the freedom the spirit promises, but look good on the outside. Who never
stray, but never go anywhere either. Isaiah warns of that in Isaiah
29:13.
It talks of a people who only worship with their lips, who live by rules,
and look good on the outside, but whose hearts are far from God. They have an
external conformity to religious things. The are spiritually dull, know the
word, but have none of the word in them. You are living a mundane life, keeping
all the rules, and then suddenly the lights appear in the rear view mirror, and
your world is shattered. Maybe only a verbal warning, but what will your
audience think? And of course we are more concerned about what our audience
thinks, aren’t we? Like Sarah should have known, a car like that will surely get
you into trouble, she had done nothing wrong. But yet was part of the party to
accusations. What a wake up call for her. Yet I had done nothing wrong either,
how would my reputation suffer for being pulled over for going to slow?
A loving God will send events into our lives, sometimes as wake up calls,
to draw us to him. We only see the red lights, he sees a spiritual danger and
wants to head it off. Leaving the choice to us, self control. My reputation
could have suffered form being pulled over with Sarah, I had no idea of what she
felt or what her version of the story would be. But I was relieved at her
response, and when asked how our date was, I simply answered, “that’s nothing a
gentleman would share about a lady.” Let them think what they might, but a car
like that will surely get you into trouble. Her reputation confirmed, mine
elevated. Nor did she ever ask for another ride....she had dated a bad boy and
won. And it wasn’t a date!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com