By Uwakwe Onwuchekwa
I’m a truck driver. One day while traveling north in Texas, I was pulled in to an inspection station. After a complete inspection of the truck and trailer, the officer let me know they found three violations—two involving the brakes and an oil leak from the engine.
After explaining the violations, the officer advised me to fix them as soon as possible. Then came the big surprise. She said, “No ticket was issued.” Not even a warning ticket! I was blown away. This was unheard of, in my experience.
But instead of just saying thank you to the officer and accepting the gift, I started complaining to her about the mechanic at my workplace. After all, he had inspected the truck that morning. As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized I’d turned a happy situation into a negative one. The complaint was unnecessary, and I instantly knew it.
I left the inspection station and resumed my trip. But within minutes I looked back and saw a thick cloud of smoke between the truck and trailer. I pulled over to the side of the road. My drive-axle tires were almost in flames! This could have been a very dangerous situation, as I was hauling acetone, a highly flammable chemical.
My spiritual realization from this experience: My complaint to the officer was anger, and anger burns like fire. I’m grateful for the clear lesson in self-responsibility.