On August 5, 1914, a strange new contraption was installed on the corners of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. Given the patent 1,251,666, James Hoge invented what is considered by any sane person to be a wonderful contraption. It made life so much better especially as the gradual disappearance of horse-drawn carriages occurred. It consisted of four pairs of red and green lights serving as stop-go indicators mounted on a corner post. The Cleveland Automobile Club said that this system was, perhaps, destined to revolutionize the handling of traffic in congested city streets and should be seriously considered by traffic committees for general adoption. Thus became the first electric traffic signal.
Each person has an internal traffic light that guides them through life, through traffic jams so to speak. While in the Air Force, I, along with thousands of others, believed it all started with the core value of integrity first. But what is it that guides us to this point? I mean, you could have all the odds stacked in your favor and still make the worst decision. What drives you to considering integrity first? Maybe you define it as conscience. Maybe an internal moral compass. But can those things be counted on to always show red when you should not go down that road, and then turn green when you should? Can they be counted on to turn yellow when there is caution ahead? To help ensure we get this right, we need help. I’ll get to that momentarily, but first a story.
Many of today’s generation were introduced to Sacagawea through the movie “Night at the Museum”, in which a wax statue of her comes to life after the museum closes. She ends up befriending Theodore Roosevelt (played by Robin Williams). Interesting, but not very historical…Roosevelt was born after Sacagawea died. But then, it was just a movie. Of course we know the real Sacagawea assisted Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their famous expedition. We don’t know for sure, but Lewis and Clark might not have made it without her as a guide and interpreter. Certainly, they would have faced increased levels of difficulty, and may not have made the right decisions based on their language skills and levels of knowledge. As a guide, she was pretty important. At least the United States Mint thought so…they created a coin in her honor. Not many people can claim that honor.
So, what is this help I referred to prior to the last paragraph? It is a life-saver, literally. It is life’s bonus. It is a great promise found in Proverbs 16:9. It, too, serves as a type of guide. It reads, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Said another way, a man sees in his own mind that the light is green and the path ahead is clear, but the Lord is telling him to stop, and to take a different route.
Much like following traffic lights will help get you safely to your destination, there is a result of following the direction of God. It is abundant life (who wouldn’t want that); it is what the writer in Psalm 1 quite pointedly wrote; If you follow his leading then you will walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, you will bypass standing in the path of sinners, you will avoid sitting in the seat of the scornful. If you follow his leading then you will be like a tree that is planted by the rivers – full of life and strength, you will bear fruit – in which others will benefit from you living a life reflective of God.
Faith, Leadership, and History 