The Difference in Night and Day

A few nights ago, I had the occasion to drive Kellogg Avenue here in Wichita at 2am. Yes, 2am. I got on at Hillside and went to the West to the Maize Road interchange where I got off. As I got on, I marveled that there was so little traffic…then remembered the time of day. I decided to count the number of vehicles I met going the opposite direction between the time I got on and when I got off.
Any guesses? Well, to avoid any apoplexy, I’ll just tell you that I counted thirty vehicles. That’s it. Thirty. Normally, one can count thirty vehicles going in the opposite direction in the span of a half mile or so. Not at that time of the day, however.
The drive was very pleasant…much more so than normal. The seeming ever-present speed trap was out on Kellogg…this time between Seneca and Meridian. I, however, try always to be at least close to the speed limit or a little below, and I just went on by.
Night is indeed different from day. That old saying contrasting the two isn’t just a saying. If you’ve ever had occasion to be out at night for any length of time, you know it’s different. I used to deliver newspapers between 3:30am and 6:00am (although not in Wichita). It was a very different environment then.
What makes it that way? Is it the lack of natural light? The cooler air? Maybe it’s the nocturnal animals versus the “normal” animals. No, I don’t think any of that accounts for it. I do think that the lack of humanity out at night, and the different “clientele” that ARE out at night are what makes the night environment so different from the day environment.
Human beings have a big impact on the world and the creation. We make things happen, prevent things from happening, change the environment and the “aura” of a place, and generally disrupt what would normally be a natural environment with our substitute environment, whether good or bad.
Some things we cannot control. Weather, wind, and some of that kind of thing is beyond our control. So too are some of the actions of some humans. No matter how hard we try; no matter how many police officers we have; no matter how many laws we make, we cannot eliminate bad, indecent, and illegal behavior.
I think just as Jesus said we’d always have the poor with us (John 12:8), we will always have bad, indecent, and illegal behavior. Sin will always be part of this life. Only when the creation has been set free from the bondage of sin and death (Romans 8:20-22) will we no longer suffer from sin and its effects. I’m looking forward to that time.