14 Apr 05 We’re Following The Leader

We were standing in line at the happiest place on earth (Costco) waiting to purchase much needed items such as a pallet of water, a flock of chickens, and an industrial size tub of peanut butter.

A woman next to us pushes her shopping cart right up to an empty check out lane with no one at the register. The register is closed. Her husband has been in the food court grazing and proceeds to come over and they begin discussing the merits of buying a barrel of honey.

As they discuss the eternal ramifications of this purchase, four other people rush to get in line behind the dialoguing couple. No one behind these folks has any idea they are not in a real line. They all saw two people standing next to a register and rushed in to be the next in line. “Take that all you people standing in long lines, our line is shorter” I’m sure was their mocking cry.

Funny how sometimes the shortcut we take turns out to be a dead end.

Here’s the most interesting part. When one of the four lemmings discovered that this was in fact a dead end he got mad. Get this, he was mad at the couple who were just standing there talking. He was, in a very loud voice, expressing his displeasure for them drawing him into a dead end line.

He was not made at himself for his own inability to pay attention. He was not mad at himself for making the wrong split-second decision. He was not mad at himself for his failure to see past the “line leaders” to see if they were actually in line. I guess in America we are free to stand anywhere except at an empty register in Costco!

Isn’t that just like us? Without judging for ourselves we rush right down a path someone else has chosen. When we discover the path is a dead end we get mad at the leader not at ourselves.

Beth remarked how that incident would be a good sermon illustration. She was right.