The Parable of the Stranger on the Interstate

A very influential pastor of a St. Louis megachurch was driving his brand new Toyota Camry on northbound I-55 to attend a "grow your church beyond your wildest dreams" conference in Chicago. He was behind schedule and traveling over the speed limit to make up for lost time. Somewhere around Springfield, he needed to change CDs to listen to a very important message about how to double your church attendance -- in five easy steps.

A certain man stranded along the interstate was trying to flag someone down for help. Sadly for him, the very influential pastor was too busy changing CDs to notice that his Camry was drifting onto the shoulder. He hit the stranger, sending the man flying into the ditch alongside the interstate.

The very influential pastor, realizing that he hit somebody, floored the gas pedal and adjusted the rearview mirror so he wouldn't have to see the broken and bloodied body. "Why was someone standing along the highway like that anyway?" he wondered. Certainly, there was nothing the very influential pastor could do for him. He wasn't a doctor or anything like that. Besides, this conference was important. It would help him reach more people for Christ -- and his church. So the very influential pastor told God how much he loved the stranger and asked the Lord to bless him.

The stranger, fortunately, was still alive. He struggled to stand up and ventured across the busy interstate to find help. No one stopped because they, too, had very important destinations to reach. The man staggered across the median and started to cross the southbound lanes to find help for his wounds.

It was about this time that a very important deacon from Chicago was navigating his sporty Acura to St. Louis for a weekend rally to help him better understand which neighbors and co-workers were most receptive to accepting the gospel and which ones were hopeless causes that should be ignored -- in five easy steps. All in his church were awed by the number of sinners that he convinced to pray the prayer of salvation, whether they wanted to believe or just get him out of their living rooms.

The very important deacon had set his cruise control at 72 mph and was daydreaming about his future conquests at the very time the stranger crossed the southbound lanes. The stranger was treated to a very close look at the silver Acura's sleek and sporty hood ornament before he took a short flight back to the median.

Under normal circumstances, the very important deacon might have reduced his speed, but he was sensible enough to know that the souls of millions of unsaved sinners outweighed the fate of one stranger, especially one he didn't even know. It would not be a strategically wise use of his time. Flipping his rearview mirror so it would be too dark to see the stranger in the median, the very important deacon prayed that the stranger would find God's will for his life -- if he should survive.

A few moments later, a telemarketer was on his way to work. He was glancing in his rearview mirror when he spied something -- or someone -- moving in the grassy median. He eased his 1983 Buick Regal with its cracked windshield to the side of the highway and took the stranger to the hospital where he received care for his injuries. Unfortunately, this made the telemarketer more than an hour late for work. His unforgiving boss fired him on the spot because his priorities were clearly out of sync.

The moral of this story is simple. As you move forward, pay no attention to your rearview mirror lest you be tempted to feel compassion for anyone hurt on the way to your very important destination.