Running the Red Lights?

Richard Hollerman

I don’t know about you, but when someone drove through a forbidden red light when I was younger, we would say that they “ran the red light”! I’m not sure when or how the phrase began but we can see the appropriateness of it. When a person sees a red light before him and wants to go through the light, we say that the person “ran a red light.” As you can imagine, this can be a very dangerous thing! If the next person in line happens to go through the light a bit early and the person we are discussing does the same in an opposite way, this could quite easily bring a collision.

Perhaps as you read this, if it happens to be a place where there is little traffic, we can see that the person might avoid a wreck. On the other hand, this situation could very easily bring a terrible wreck. With people driving fast (even much faster than allowed), with distractions, with so much unlawful behavior and driving, we wonder how this can continue.

So we are wondering how you are dealing with those who “run a red light” on the streets and highways of the city or the entire country. We might wonder how this phrase is using in the common language of the day.

One source, The Free Dictionary, says it means, “to drive past a red traffic light (which is a signal to stop). He got pulled over for running a red light at one of the busiest intersections in the city.

Another dictionary, source (https://autocollisionlegal.com) says, “Despite the term being ‘running a red light’ you will not be running past a red light but driving through a red light.”

Yet another dictionary says, “The phrase to run a red light is an idiom that means to continue driving through an intersection having a red traffic light without stopping.” (https://www.myenglishpages.com › random-idiom). Thus, the phrase indicates that a person breaks the speed limit and the traffic regulations by going through a red light at an intersection.

Maybe you have done this yourself. Or possibly someone has broken the law by violating your own lawful driving. We are under the deep impressing that many (perhaps most) people in the larger cities (and probably the smaller towns) do break the speed limits and unlawfully fail to slow down or stop at stop signs or at red lights—when there is a traffic signal.  Are you one of these?

What does God’s Word say about this? We know that there is much that is not revealed in Scripture since we are living at a different time with different situations, yet we can learn something. Notice what God’s Word says, “Every person is to be in subjection [to traffic regulations] to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1b). Again, “Whoever resists authority [regarding traffic laws] has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves” (Romans 13:2). Notice further: “If you do what is evil [by violating the traffic regulations] be afraid; for it does not bear the sword [exercise authority in some way—with a gun, etc.] for nothing; for ti is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil [by disobeying the “stop” signs, for example].”

Although we realize that 2,000 years ago can change some expressions of God’s will, still we can see the principle here. Although we know that our own situation is far different from the situation as it existed years ago, we also know that we are required to obey the government when it requires something and to disobey the government when it wants us to violate the will of God.

We know that some who read these articles don’t have a car. You use public transportation, or walk to needful places, or may use a bicycle, thus you don’t need a car or truck. But you can see the point that we are trying to make in this article. We hope that you can translation it into your own situation, always seeking to follow the will of God all times.

I walk about 3 miles a day, every day of the year, and do some driving as well. Maybe you are like this yourself. Are you, personally, careful to avoid the wrong and to do the right? Do you stop when the traffic signal says to stop and do you carefully obey all other traffic regulations? As you know, this is something that is needful for the follower of Christ. Let’s yield to God’s will and do this at all times. Let’s be law-abiding drivers!