Hey Man…Can You Give Me a Ride?

Here’s the story…a friend of a friend asks you to give him a ride to the store. He’s really not your friend but you know him. He seems ok, after all he’s known one of your friends for a while. You say “sure” of course you’ll give a guy a ride to the store. Seems harmless right? You take him to the store, the convenience store on the corner. He says, “You want anything?” You say “no I’m good”. He goes into the store and comes back in about 10 minutes. You say “we good?” He says “yeah, take a right and step on it! You say ”Step on it?” What do you mean? He says “MAN STEP ON IT! He’s agitated… Suddenly Blue Lights behind you, Blue Lights on side streets, and you think you hear a helicopter above you. The next thing you hear are commands from a Police loud speaker telling you to put your hands out the window. Police officers approach your car, guns drawn while you new friend stuffs a brown paper bag under his seat. As you are being violently removed from your vehicle and placed on the ground, knee in the neck, it dawns on you…you are the get-a-way car in an armed robbery. Now this sounds far fetched but it is an absolutely TRUE STORY. When I met the get-a-way driver he was in tears. I had just posted his bond and as he walked out of the release door he all but fell into my arms. I tried to comfort him by telling him that he is just accused of the crime and that he is presumed innocent until the court can prove he’s guilty but it was like he already knew. That prosecutor was going to do everything in his power to convict him. After all, that’s his job. The more convictions he wins the more successful he is. That is the way our judicial system is wired. You know, this could really happen to anybody. As you reflect on this remember what your Mother said. “Don’t hang around the wrong people”. Better yet read Proverbs One and apply it to your life. Peace.