The Roads of Hazzard County!

Okay… so I admit it… I started watching some Dukes of Hazzard reruns again!  I had caught an advertisement a month or so ago saying that the show was celebrating their 35^th anniversary so I thought… why not record a few episodes since the CMT channel was going to rebroadcast the series.  And we’ve been laughing ever since.  There are so many parts of that show that are so totally ridiculous and far-fetched that one can’t help but throw back their head and laugh throughout each episode!  Having lived through that era makes it even that much more endearing.  Many of the younger stars on the show are around the same age as my wife and I.

My thoughts returned to Hazzard County this morning as I read a verse from the first chapter of the Gospel of John.  In the 23^rd verse John the Baptist is recorded as responding to the Jewish religious leaders of the day in answer to their questions about who he was by stating: “I am the voice of one who cries in the desert, level the way of the Lord.” (Moffatt)  The International Standard Version puts it as: “prepare the Lord’s highway.”

Most episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard begin with scenes of the Duke boy’s car, the General Lee, racing along the roads and highways of Hazzard County.  The idea of a highway that is level was seemingly never considered in the make believe locale of Hazzard County, supposedly located in the southern state of Georgia, somewhat near Atlanta.

Their roads are usually depicted as a little more than a rough wagon trail complete with bumps and muddy puddles strewn with downed trees, boulders and other such obstacles.  Nothing like the smooth and well-built Interstate Highway System whose idea US President Dwight D. Eisenhower championed in the 1950’s.

The highlight of every show is the many chase scenes and impossible jumps that the Duke boy’s and the law enforcement vehicles (who are usually chasing them) make as they drive around or over the obstacles they encounter.  I once read that in the course of the show’s seven seasons, that they destroyed over 300 1969 Dodge Chargers.  Toward the final years of the show the producers switched to the filming of 1/8 scale miniatures for the jump scenes in order to reduce costs and to rival the technology of the jumps being shown in the new upstart series Knight Rider!

In telling of John the Baptist’s job description that was originally prophesied in Isaiah 40:3, the Apostle John emphasizes his role in making Jesus’s way straight or level.  As I considered that and (believe it or not) thought about the roads in Hazzard County and the mayhem they caused, I understood the point that we today are also being called to follow John the Baptist’s example.  We are not to be like Boss Hogg who always attempted to stop Bo and Luke’s plans to help others by setting up distractions, obstacles or road blocks in the path of the General Lee.  Instead, we are called to walk and talk and carry ourselves in such a way as to make a smooth highway for others to receive Jesus’ salvation into their lives.

Remember, this salvation includes all the redemptive processes that God, through Jesus, has provided for us who believe.  As I’ve mentioned before, this includes salvation from sin and its results in our personal lives and in the world around us!

I cringe every time I observe the General Lee landing after one of its jumps.  Many times (as is normal in the filming of 80’s car chase scenes) they don’t cut away quite fast enough and if you concentrate on where the car is landing, you can see a fender crunch, an axel break or parts flying off the car just before the angle changes and you see the boys laughing in the car as they (supposedly) drive away.  In reality, you know that they didn’t drive away from that scene until they switched cars!

Well, I don’t want to be one that causes another individual to crunch, break something or lose their cool (or something worse) because of something I may have said or done that caused them to reject Jesus and/or His help in a crises situation in their lives!  How about you?  For me… I like a happy ending just like you always see at the conclusion of a Dukes of Hazzard episode.  And while I realize that this is not always the way things turn out in real life, I have the satisfaction and ultimate peace of mind in at least knowing that I did my best to be a good example of Christ's love to others… whether they end up going His way or not.

Have a good day!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… What am I expecting today?”