Minor Nuisance - Major Inconvenience

There was a time that one of my jobs was sending me on trips throughout the Midwest. One of these trips was to Monett Missouri. While my activities and such were routine, it was the driving that was interesting.
One time I was driving through Kansas City. I had turned onto 435N and immediately saw a sign stretching over the interstate. It read, “Right Lane Closed at Antioch, 10 miles.”
It this point, there were five lanes, and I was in the right lane. I eased over into the next lane content with my foresight to go ahead and move.
Five miles later, I saw another sign somewhat similar as the first one, but a little change. It read, “Antioch exits closed, 5 miles.” Now there were signs showing that the left lane would also be closed. While my math is fuzzy at times, I knew that in five miles the interstate would be down to three lanes. I then eased into the center lane knowing that I had five miles before we hit the construction.
Three miles later, another sign gave the same warning, “Antioch exits closed, 2 miles.” Along the shoulder of the interstate there were signs prompting the traffic to merge within the next two miles. As soon as I passed the sign, I came to a complete stop.
After a couple of minutes, the traffic moved forward about thirty feet and stopped again. My fear was that there was a wreck causing the problems. It took forty-five minutes to drive the next two miles. When I got to the construction, I was able to see the problem. Fortunately, it was not a wreck; it was people not heeding the warning signs and trying to squeeze in at the last minute. What began as a minor nuisance became a major inconvenience.
How many times have you done something like that? The warning signs are before you. There is plenty of time to make the change, but through stubbornness or pride, refuse. Then what could have been a minor nuisance becomes a major inconvenience.
We have been given the road signs. Warnings to follow the right path and to be prepared for adversity. These road signs are found in the Bible. These commands are not a nuisance and are far from being burdensome, “Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3 NLT)
There are times when our own actions cause other people to become inconvenienced. Whether it is the highway incident, slacking off at work, or an angry outburst at an unsuspecting cashier, our own actions affect other people. Positive or negative, what we do has impact upon the actions and reactions of other people. Therefore, we need to be cognizant of what we are doing and how it will affect others.
If we follow the road signs and make the change before we are forced to, we may have minor nuisances but we can avoid the major inconveniences.