Law Abiding Citizens...or not?

The other day while I am at church a big dump truck pulls into the parking lot and stops. I stepped outside to find out where he intended to go, because he clearly was not at the right location. He said "I'm just going to park here for a while; I do it all the time". I pointed out that the sign (about 5 feet away from his truck) said clearly that he was not supposed to do so. His comment was, "yeah, I know".

Essentially he was saying, "I know you don't want me here, and that you even posted a notice that says so, but I've been ignoring it for a while now so you should just let me do it". He was certainly polite about it, but it appeared (at least to my limited knowledge) that he did not really care. Since I know, by his own admission, that he had seen the sign, and apparently been ignoring it for a while now, I let him know that he would need to find another place to park.

I did not do this out of anger, or spite or anything petty like that. No, instead it was out of love. Yes, love. Because I looked at his rebellion with pity, and loved him as a fallen human who needs to rethink his life, I chose to show him love and let him know that I was not going to support his lack of concern for rules. If I were to have just "let it go" and said, "yes" it would be tantamount to saying, "we as Catholics do not care about the rules any more than you do, and I put that sign up there for no reason whatsoever; you just go ahead and do whatever you want because I am too much a coward to help you turn away from moral compromise". No, that is not what it means to love someone.

If after seeing the sign that said "no trespassing", he had also looked at our bigger sign he would have seen the phone number on there. If he had called and said, "I know your sign says no trespassing, but I am in need of parking my big fat dump truck here for a short time. May I have your permission to do so?" I very likely would have said yes. Why is there so much disrespect for laws, rules, and other people's property in America today? It appears to be what most parents have been teaching their kids for a couple generations now.

We are largely a lawless and selfish people and it is coming back to bite us. It is our duty as the "light of the world" and the "salt of the earth" to bring a good example to others. This needs to be an example of respect for the law. It needs to be an example of showing consideration for other people's property and their wishes. What example are you giving right now? How do others (especially those outside the Church) view your behavior? It is something that each of us should ponder on a regular basis. After all, Jesus does not take it lightly when we live as hypocrites.