At Least I Got Out Of the Truck

Several weeks ago my office was going to the ground breaking for one of our larger projects. It was the end of the day so we all took separate cars. Two of the guys left slightly before me. I pulled out of our parking lot and came to a complete stop. Traffic was backed up from about the middle of the hill. Through a drizzle of rain I could see a pickup truck on its side and another truck with a trailer on the shoulder of the road. There were people standing by both trucks. As I watched a man came running up from somewhere behind me.

I assumed someone was calling 911.

I sat for a beat or two and decided I needed to be sure. Quickly parking the truck I walked out in to the rain. The first thing I saw was a man in a suit pacing around on the phone. He was obviously talking to emergency services. So that was taken care of. I stood around for a few minutes accessing the situation. I didn't see anything I could help with and started to feel a little dumb for getting out of the truck. My only contribution was getting someone's attention when another person brought a blanket to cover up the guy at the bottom of the truck on it's side.

Even though I felt a little dumb I'm still proud of myself for getting out of the truck. There may be people that naturally react to an event like this by running up to the wreck. I am not that person. My first instinct is the same as my friend's from the office that got to the wreck before me. Stay in my truck and let someone else handle it. I don't want to be the person that stays in the truck. I want to be the kind of person that is ready to help.

Since that is not my natural state I have to work on it. Not only because of the type of person I want to be but someday I might be faced with a situation where doing the right thing will be extremely difficult. If I haven't practiced doing the right thing I might not be ready when the moment comes. If I find out a young boy was raped will I do the right thing or protect my career like Joe Paterno. Will I go along with the killing of millions of innocents because I'm just trying to get through the day? Can I give up enough of myself to make the type of sacrifice my teacher Christ would ask of me? Right now? Probably not, but I hope I can practice enough that if the time comes I'll be able to do the right thing.

Everyone should read this:
The Greatest Crimes Against Humanity Are Perpetrated by People Just Doing Their Jobs