Skip to main content

Are You Really Willing to Drink the Water?

So recently West Virginia had an issue with their water. Who knew that mixing chemicals in would make it dangerous to drink, right? It was a big issue, but one that people took seriously and, at least for most people, has been solved. I found this quote from an article that intrigued me. "West Virginia American Water president Jeff McIntyre reiterated on Monday that the water was safe, underscoring his point by drinking tap water in front of reporters." 

That, my friends, is applying truth to action. It also made me question my own ability to apply truth to life. Let me explain.

Recently, at a church potluck, the fun was followed by sickness. Now, as a germaphobe, don't even get me started on how the church is a breeding ground for illness anyway, with all the hand shaking and hugging and laying on of hands. As a pastor, I just trust that friendliness and spiritual practice is more important than the threat of getting ill. Plus, I assume either God is protecting me from getting ill more often or I'm building up a super-immunity because of my continual contact. (Yet another reason to go to church, hooray!)

As I was saying, the potluck was followed by reports from people that they got sick that day and the next day. Someone mentioned a particular dish and their assumption that food poisoning was the culprit. The particular dish they mentioned happened to be the very dish my wife had brought. The very dish to which there were leftovers in my fridge.

So now I was keenly interested and started investigating. Contacting all those who had experienced unpleasant trips to the bathroom, I started a survey. What did you eat at the potluck? Could you describe the consistency of what came back up? Are you sure it's not the flu?

I'm happy to report that the results revealed that my wife's dish was not the culprit. Some who did eat of it did not get sick. Others who did not eat of it were also among the ill. Food be clean!

But although my wife's cooking was redeemed, what i did next did not reflect any faith in the truth I had discovered. I threw out the leftovers. Yep, I tossed them, not in the same way others had tossed their lunch following the potluck. 

I told myself I was too busy to risk it. But the truth should have set me free. 

What did I really believe? If we say we believe something is true, our actions should reflect that. Jeff McIntyre showed that he believed the water to be safe by drinking it. I showed doubt in my actions. The worst consequence in either of these circumstances would be a few sick days. But what about matters of eternal importance? 

What we say we believe about God and Heaven and eternity should be reflected in our actions. Are yours?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more

But I Wanted It

As I've said before , I'm looking for a new place to do youth ministry. Job searching in itself can be a full time task. Unfortunately, no one is paying me to look for a job. And when you haven't had to find a job in 15 years, the whole experience can feel brand new. And nerve-wracking. And quiet. So very, very quiet. I may spend a few hours here and there sending out my resumes and writing cover letters. But the churches I'm sending my information to have their own timeline. And sometimes that timeline does not involve acknowledging my presence. Which is fine, especially if one of the churches I've applied to is reading this right now. I understand those looking for youth pastors will have their own agenda and their own timeline. But it leaves me sitting here with a deafening quiet around me. I am choosing to walk by faith through these days, picturing God working behind the scenes (always behind the scenes) and holding His voice very still, until He is re...
2 comments
Read more