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Category: Teachings & Articles

Published: Sunday, 04 November 2018 11:02

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The road sign

By Augusto A. Kho

SM City – Rosales, Pangasinan

November 3, 2018 (Saturday); 9:51 am

For the wake of late Dominador dela Cruz of Aguilar, Pangasinan

The preference

When I was in the corporate world, I have been provided with a car and a personal driver. I shunned driving since I had a motorcycle accident when I was in high school. For me driving is a dreaded, tedious task.

When I was in the airline industry for over 10 years, travelling has been ingrained in my system. I always prefer as passenger because I am not a pilot anyway. That was my preference. I also prefer travelling light meaning I normally bring small amount of luggage for comfort and convenience compared among most Filipinas today who oftentimes bringing with them 2-3 bags while they commuting in a bus or in a train (MRT, LRT).

I experienced twice travelling loaded with 2 heavy suitcases that makes one's travel so stiffly heavy and inconvenient especially when it requires several hotel transfers. And you have to carry all those heavy stuff with you.

Driving is a must

When I joined another company as a Travel Manager in King Abdulaziz Hospital in Riyadh I was informed that I will be provided with a car but not with a personal driver. I had no choice to what I feared for and that is driving. Driving is a must otherwise it is more inconvenient to commute every day. So I had to take crash driving course. The driving instructor had a hard time coaching me in.

As a driver, you must be familiar with the road and the easiest route to bring yourself and your passenger ahead of time in your destination. Driving has a lot of work which includes maintenance and others.

Hell-drivers

For the first two years, I have been driving with butterflies in my stomach. And I find it more scary when you drive here in the Philippines where there is a monstrous traffic and careless motorists who are considered one among the worst traffic violators. I remember when I was young in the early 60’s when my father brought me to Manila just to watch the American-performers, “hell drivers” boasted their hellish-driving skills and acrobats at the Rizal Memorial Stadium

Traffic laws

I respect traffic laws even with a mere "No Parking Sign." Cautiously and meticulously I drive even though I must admit that I hate slow pace moving vehicles. I tend to overtake many times. Was it a Filipino-psyche or values called “talangka-mentality?”

Keep right

I've been driving in the Philippines since 1997. Along NLEX I often see a road sign that says, "Keep right" but I must admit that I didn't digested it that much what does it truly driving at.

Driving along left side of NLEX is far more convenient to avoid slow moving vehicles. The left lane is often more less crowded though. While driving on that lane one time, I was accosted by fast-running police car and the officer on board using his left hand outside his car window hand-signed me to pull over. I did!

I asked the police officer what traffic violation I have done. He said I overstayed in the left lane which is only meant for overtaking. I appealed to him not to issue me a violation ticket but to no avail.

That simple road sign violation did cost me P 3,500.00 fine, suspension of my license for the next 3 months, an actual driving text and written exam inside the LTO main office at Quezon City.

It was actually only then that I understood that simple sign "Keep right!" These two words changed my perspective when it comes to driving-ethics.

Stay wrong

Do we prefer to "stay wrong" rather than to "stay right," or “keep right,” don't we? And I’ve found Filipino motorcycle drivers as worst traffic violators. Many times they would always break the right lane no matter you are using hazard or signal lights.

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Internet photo

The moral lesson is this is to digest and understand simple road signs. You can never go wrong. It makes your journey hassle- free. It is more convenient, economical, safe and peaceful. It gives you a sense of direction and a safety measure tips while you are on the road.

We are all in the road of this life. We are merely cruising in the path and we have not reached our specific destination yet. And the path isn't that easy.

The chosen people of God though they are special ones took 40 years journeying in a dreaded wilderness for forty years. Jeremiah 2:6/ ISV say:

“"They didn't ask, 'Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through the land of desert and pits, through the land of dryness and deep darkness, a land that people don't pass through, and where no one lives?'

God promised them a land overflowing with milk and honey which is called “Canaan Land” which is today’s Israel.

In KJV it reads: “Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? “

This is the kind of road that people of God has to pass through in their life journey. The given route was mandatory rather than optional.

While God provides direction and destination He didn’t promise a luxurious, comfortable and with ease journey. The creepy route is an acid test of man’s character. No one acquires wisdom and great sense of humility without passing through hard times.

The journey in life entails threats, intimidation, sickness, failures, sorrows or loss. But provided strong determination is there and strong belief in God in His grace, will be bound to fail?

The Promised Land is there but passing by along that road is scary and hell-raising but it should not fear us NOT to resume the journey. No journey is without getting weary and exhausted. But destination (as a destiny) can only be achieved unless you are passing over (journeying) in this life.

God’s people must be tested in their life journey so God brought them to a longer route, not the short-cut one (Exodus 13:17018/ NIV). It is said that the road they are passing through are as follows:

• Wilderness

• Deserts

• Land of pits

• Drought

• shadow of death

• No one ever passes by on the road

• It is a forsaken land. Not one would ever dare to live there

Will you have that strong determination to pass through that route, what if you can never make it and perish along that road? Will you pass through a grave yard especially when you are along walking in the dead of the night?

Shadow of death
The words “shadow of death” in Hebrew “tsalmaveth” (tsal-maw-veth) means “deep darkness; death-shadow (literal or figurative like distress, extreme danger, place of the dead; grave).”

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Why should the Lord leads you to such scary, hair-raising road, why not the easier one? Are we nuts to pass through that place?

In Greek, death is Thanatos meaning “the separation of the soul and the body by which life on earth has ended.” Thanatos implies “future misery in hell” according to Thayer. Thanatos is a noun. It is either a name of a place or a person, “ the nether world, the abode of the dead, very dark, it is equivalent to the region of thickest darkness enveloped with ignorance and sin,” (Matthew 4:16). Thanatos is a person, the Greek-god of the dead. Thanatos implies “either you a dead physically or spiritually.”

In other words, in this room is where you can find a grave; a place of the living and the dead. Thanatos is derived from Greek root word, “ thnesko:” meaning “to die, to be dead, metaphorically spiritually dead.” Thano means “to die.”

That is exactly the road were the Israelites had trodden upon that caused great casualty among the older generation because they murmured against God and resisted His ways. So they never entered the perfection of their destiny or destination but their bodies were scattered on the wilderness and found no rest in their lives with God (Hebrews 3:7-11).

Which way?

Paul says that the death of the people of God in the journey to the wilderness is given to us as an example that we should not follow them in their wrong path of journey.

1 Corinthians 10:6 : “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. “

Right road sign
Why be misguided in your journey to hell and death when there is a provided right road sign?

Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. “ (John 14:6)

Way in Greek “hodos” does not only mean a literal “road, highway, way or route” but metaphorically a “course of conduct.” In Filipino, it means “pag uugali.” It also means “

The Way

The right way is here and why would you make another way which is a wrong road sign?

As a travel agent for over 10 years, I always provide safety travel tips to my passengers. Why would I give people today a wrong way when they needed the right direction for their journey in life?

Like we as Filipino motorists, why we break the wrong way when we are being provided the right way concerning road signs. If we cannot simply follow road signs, how can we follow divine road signs?

So it proper to interpret John 14:6 this way, “I am the road sign, the truth and the life. No one can comes to the Father but by me.” So KEEP RIGHT

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If Jesus is the way, why would you look for another way? Why would you and your loved ones must headed to a place where the shadow of death is? Why not lead them to a journey where there is a road or way of life and truth?

Your preferred route of travel is yours to complete your journey – either life or death. It is your choice.