Wrong Decisions Hurt Others
I was on an airplane some years back when I experienced the consequences of one person’s bad decision which affected all of us onboard—but it could have been much worse.
The early morning plane from Colorado to Dallas was packed with passengers– many of them dressed in business suits, which indicated they had appointments in various cities. A heavy snow was falling although it was late March. Airline personnel were busy de-icing our plane.
Just when we were ready to take off, a woman sitting in front of me called a flight attendant over. I heard part of her conversation. “Check to see if a man named Craig ______ is on board. I put his luggage on for him I didn’t really know him. I don’t think he boarded.”
When it was certain the passenger wasn’t seated, she was asked to step off the plane for further questioning. The rest of us fidgeted in our seats while the luggage compartment was searched. The moments ticked away. Thirty minutes. Forty minutes. Sixty minutes.
This was in a time when everyone was questioned when they checked in at the ticket counter. “Did you pack this luggage yourself? Has it been in your possession all the whole time?” The woman must have outright lied when asked this.
Finally, she came back on board and returned to her seat amid a few angry “boos” from the nearby passengers. Now we waited again– for the plane to be de-iced once more.
When we reached Dallas, everyone it seemed had missed plane connections. Buses were waiting to take some of us to other terminals, even changing us to other airlines. A woman near me with two toddlers began to cry. She wasn’t prepared to have to get them on and off of a bus and hurry for another flight at a different terminal. Businessmen were cursing because they missed their flights.
Not only did I miss my flight there, but when I got to Atlanta I was also too late for that connection. Everyone’s day it seemed had been interrupted because of one woman’s wrong choice — her decision to accept luggage from a stranger.
I was glad she finally came clean and admitted her mistake, and the questionable luggage was removed. It could have contained an explosive. Yes, many people’s lives can be affected by one person’s decision to do the wrong thing. 1
Today airport security is tighter, with luggage screened and people sometimes questioned before boarding. Anyone who flies much has unusual stories about their airline travels. I could write a book about some of mine. Like the time a man who was just one seat removed from me died an hour and a half before we landed in Frankfort, Germany. But that’s for another time…
Prayer: Lord, how easy it is to point my finger at that woman’s bad decision on our airplane that day. I was angry at her because I had arrived late for my appointment. She did such a wrong thing, without considering the bad consequence that others might suffer. But you’ve shown me how often my own sin hurts others, too. Harsh words, a curt attitude, unwillingness to listen, my poor choices. Lord, help me to live so I won’t damage others by my wrongdoing. Forgive me for the times when my bad choices have wounded others. I’m truly sorry. Thank You for Jesus’ sacrifice and promise to forgive when we ask. I chose to forgive that woman too. Amen.
Scriptures: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25 NKJV)
“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”( Luke 11:4 NIV)
Footnote: Excerpted from Good Night, Lord by Quin Sherrer, (Ventura, CA.: Regal Books, 2000), pp. 126-127.
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