Think about all the people and experiences that steal the time of our lives. They take your limited time on earth and give nothing in return. Often they put you in the hole.
Robbery is an obvious example. In some historical cultures a thief was executed. We think that is too harsh but that is because we are so wealthy that we don’t value the work it takes to stay alive any more. When people steal they are taking from your life the time it took to earn the cost of the goods or replace them. If it took a woman two weeks work to shear a sheep, prepare the wool, turn it into thread, weave the cloth and hand sew the garment, then when someone steals it they have taken two weeks of that person’s life. This is a serious loss.
In traffic think about the stupid, narcissistic, lazy drivers causing accidents. They weave in and out. They tailgate. They cut in. They destroy your car and possibly take your life. At best they steal thousands of hours of people’s lives; at worst, they commit murder.
Then you have the police officers who do very little to get traffic moving again. I passed the scene of an accident this week that had the traffic backed up at least 8 miles. When I finally came to the place of the accident the lane was blocked only by a police car and orange cones. One police officer was slowly pushing a broom across the lane. Three more were leaning against the wall talking. Cops who don’t get the job done and the traffic moving are stealing a part of my life, not to mention the thousands of other people in cars around me.
It is bad enough when we rob ourselves. It is evil when other people rob us.
Of course, as a Christian I have an eternity ahead. Maybe that is why God says I must be patient and forgive. When you compare eternity with a few lost years it puts things in a different perspective.
It still frosts me.
homo unius libri
And most of the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteIt is good to know I am not alone.
DeleteGrace and peace.