Changing Lanes

Changing Lanes

In the medieval age the Church saw the need to address the moral behavior of the masses of people. They used entertainment in the form of street plays. These were called Moral Plays. The main character was cleverly named “Everyman” and faced moral dilemmas that every man could and probably did face. Occasionally Hollywood comes up with a great example of a moral play. One such movie is Changing Lanes. The language is raw, but the story is great. Two men become our “Everyman” character. The encounter between the two men takes place in New York and lasts one day. We get glimpses of both men before they encounter each other. One man is an insurance salesman estranged from his family. He is a recovering alcoholic and on his way to court to retain partial custody of his children. His good news is that he has been able to get a loan to buy a house so that his ex-wife will not move to Portland, Oregon with their two boys. The other man is a young, Wall Street lawyer who had started out his career with high expectations of making a difference. We see him giving a speech to grade school children who have just performed their first concert using instruments donated by a foundation that he helped set up. After the concert we discover he is being sued in court by the granddaughter of the man who left the legacy for the children. She is very angry because she believes he sold out his ideals and took advantage of her grandfather.

The moral play presents us with two men who have high hopes for the future. These two men will be challenged, will examine their core values and have a choice presented to them. Actually the play gives these two men several opportunities to redeem their situation before they reach the point where there is no turning back. While on their way to court the men are distracted, and as they change lanes to take the same exit, they have a wreck. The man in insurance wants to change information and do the correct thing. The lawyer is in a hurry and cannot find his insurance information and offers the other man a blank check. The insurance man refuses. The lawyer stuffs his court files back in to his brief case in which he had been searching for the insurance information and leaves the insurance man with a disabled car on the road. The lawyer is late for his court hearing. He unpacks his legal files to discover one of the most important files is missing. The judge gives him until the end of the day to bring it back. The problem is that the lawyer does not know who the man is because he did not exchange information properly and left the scene of an accident.

It begins to rain and the insurance man sees that the lawyer has left a file on the ground. He picks it up with the intent of returning it. He is twenty minutes late for his court hearing and is not able to present the fact that he has the loan to buy a house. The judge has awarded the wife with full custody of his sons. When the insurance man leaves the courthouse, he throws away the file. He walks off despondently in the rain. Low and behold out of the millions of people in New York the lawyer drives by to see him. He offers a ride. The insurance man declines the ride and tells the lawyer that he threw the file away. He will not accept the apology offered. They go their separate ways. Now the lawyer knows the name of the insurance man and the insurance man knows the file is important to the lawyer. The insurance man goes back to find the file. He taunts the lawyer by faxing the first page of the file to him.

The lawyer is told about a computer hacker who will be able to help him. The computer hacker shows how easy it is to get information on the guy and fix his records. The lawyer asked if there was any other way to handle this. The computer hacker tells him he could call and ask nicely for the file. One push of the button and the situation escalates. I will not tell about you the entire movie., but will skip to the end. The lawyer has a conversation with his boss, who is also his father-in-law about how he can live with himself and the corruption. The father-in-law says: “I judge it all by the end of the day. If I have done more good than bad, I consider it a good day.” The lawyer has choices to make. The insurance man has choices to make. Can they make things right by the end of the day?

I relate the story told in this movie to you for a reason. The reason is to challenge you today as “Everyman” and “Every-Woman” who daily face ethical, moral and spiritual dilemmas to carefully consider the choices you make. Your choices carry a heavier price tag because of your call and appointment as an officer and spiritual leader.

Recently I heard the children’s poem Jack and Jill used as a parable lesson to point to our circle of influence. Jack’s fall effected Jill. Because when Jack fell, Jill came tumbling after. Your circle of influence as a Salvation Army Officer, soldier or Christian makes it crucial for you to choose the most correct response to the ethical, moral and spiritual dilemmas you face.

Well I have given you a quick look at Hollywood’s version of a moral play and a very quick look at a nursery rhyme’s version of a moral out come; but what does God’s Word have to say?

Here are a few “sound bites” from the Bible. Can you find them? A tree is known by its fruits. Be holy, because I am holy. You are a new creation. Walk worthy of your calling. Live in such a way to honor God.

What do your choices say about you at the end of the day? I hope they say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

WOW – Will your life style win others to Christ and to The Salvation Army?