Thursday, November 8, 2007

I'm Pretty Much Like You

I’ll go ahead and admit it: my greatest weakness, my greatest sin is driving too fast—way too fast. At least this is the only sin I’m willing to admit to you. We don’t know each other that well. Maybe a little later, when we know each other better, I’ll tell you some of my darker weaknesses. They’re secret and I don’t share them with just anyone—we’ll have to become better acquainted. But I do love to drive fast. I heard a guy say the other day that when he gets pulled over by the cops, he just says, “Give me the ticket or the lecture. I’m in a hurry.” I bet he usually gets the ticket. Not me—I’ll let him scream his head off at me all day long. Just don’t give me the ticket. I’ve learned to be very respectful of cops. In a weird way, sometimes I think they may have too much power. But even so, I still drive fast.

I don’t really think I’m all that different from you. Maybe your greatest sin isn’t driving too fast. Maybe it’s drinking too much, or secretly looking at pornography, or looking at other women way too much, (I guess if you’re married, your wife would say any looking is way too much) or maybe it’s men, or maybe you’ve got some other hidden secret you’re not willing to tell anybody about. I think pretty much all people have some secret weakness they’re not willing to show to the world. We like looking good, and you can’t look good if your stuff is hanging out there for the world to see. We go speeding down the road of life hoping we don’t get pulled over. Even if we do, just give us the lecture or the ticket. But whatever you do, don’t make us look deep inside and say why we were driving too fast.

Other than the stuff I’m not willing to tell you about, as I say, I bet we’re not all that different. I’m just an average guy. I went to public high school. I worked at the Sky-Vue Drive-In. Eventually I went off to school and got married. Maybe we can talk more about all of that later. But there’s really nothing all that special about me. There is nothing dramatic or flamboyant about me. I’m not well known outside of my own little circle of friends—certainly not outside my own home town. I haven’t written a bunch of books.

Sometimes I envy all the pretty people who have lots of fame, or have to avoid the big crowds that follow them, or people with lots of money, or people that seem to live so much better than I do.

I’m pretty much just your average guy. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to fill the void in my life. I’ve always wanted to believe that there is something out there for me to do that is bigger than I can imagine. I’ve tried a lot of stuff but I’m never completely satisfied with my life. I’m always thinking there is something more.

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