In my column today, I want to veer a little from the ordinary as I consider an issue that we all can perhaps identify with in a metaphorical and satirical fashion. The very subject is an obvious indicator of the nature of my piece today. Well, I know that right about now some who are reading this article may be asking themselves this question: How in the world can a car take its owner or driver to court?
Let me give you the answer in as brief or simple of a way as I can. There are two courts that a car, or any inanimate thing, can take a person to court. These courts will also consider animals who are abused and mistreated.
The court that I am referring to in my article today is two-fold in nature.
First, it is the court of public opinion. This is the court that people are tried in before they come into any other court in the land. Whether they will be ultimately proven to be innocent or guilty of any crime or violation in a court with a judge and a jury of their peers, they are first tried in the court of public opinion. Then the next court that all of us are tried in about any issue that we cannot escape is the court of our conscience.
Our conscience is the compass that will show us the direction that we are headed in any area, or about any issue. If it has not been damaged or rendered inoperative or ineffective, due to being continually overridden, the human conscience will commend and console us when we are right and condemn and convict us when we are wrong.
So, in both of these courts, I was found guilty of being negligent and irresponsible in regard to the internal and external maintenance and cleaning of my vehicle. To my credit, I was faithful to ensuring that the vitals of regular maintenance of the engine and transmission and rotation of the tires were conducted regularly and on time. However, I was found guilty of not keeping both the interior and exterior of my vehicle as clean as I should have been doing.
There are other areas and things in our lives that will take us to court if we are irresponsible and negligent to our duties and responsibilities. Many have been found guilty of abusing and neglecting their pets. They have not given them the proper attention and care as they should have. They have not kept them cleaned and groomed. They have not taken them to the veterinarian for routine visits and shots. Then there is the issue of lawn and yard upkeep. I am struggling to not be taken to the court of public opinion and personal conscience in regard to how I have done a substandard job in keeping my lawn and shrubbery manicured. If these plants could talk, they would assuredly give me a piece of their mind for neglecting them.
Thus far, we have considered vehicles, pets, lawns, and shrubbery that have taken some to the court of public opinion and personal conscience. With the remainder of the space that we have in this column today, we are going to shift and direct our focus to a few things that are far more essential and decided in the very court that has been the crux of our article. Perhaps at the very top is the issue of our health that so many are being tried for, due to the negligent and abusive fashion, that they are giving toward the upkeep of their bodies. I have been issued some warnings in this area about drinking more water, eating more vegetables (especially greens), fish, and chicken, and getting the proper amount of exercise and sleep.
Finally, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am being tried in the court of public opinion and my conscience to make sure that I am not violating my obligation and fellowship with Him. Whether or not, we who confess to be Christians, with the call that God has placed upon our lives, are truly striving to fulfill it through our obedience and submission. There is a day of reckoning coming when we will have to give an account to Him for our failures and negligence as His disciples. It would be to our eternal well-being that we never forget. At the end of our days on Earth, when nothing else will matter, only those things that we have done for Christ and the Kingdom of God will have any eternal meaning and value. Since this is the case, we must get our priorities and pursuits in order.
