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

Studies on the Go...Genesis

To be honest, I had not heard of Studies On The Go before being offered a review copy by my god friends at Youth Worker. But since I’m always looking out for study ideas, I said yes to this opportunity. Studies On The Go by Laurie Polich-Short has 30 studies. This particular edition is on the book of Genesis. Any book of the Bible can be daunting when you’re trying to interest and impact teenagers. But Genesis increases that difficulty due to the many questions that arise on the topic of creation. On top of that, you have the many stories of questionable characters that we often call heroes of the faith. Each study comes with great questions, not mindless Sunday School questions where every answer is Jesus. They also come with an optional activity to take the lesson a step further and create true impact. Add to that a weekly plan for students to go deeper and you have a winner of a study in one little book. If all the book studies are as well done as this one, I’d ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Are You Capable Of?

I fancy myself to be just like Batman...without the money, the cave, the vendetta, the car and the cool belt. Other than that, we're pretty much the same guy. Does it help my case that I have a boy wonder? It's my son, but I'd take him over a dude in green tights any day. I've also imagined myself to be similar to Superman...you know, but without the super strength, speed, or that thing he can do with his eyes. Oh, and I'm also not from another planet. But he was a reporter and I like to write, though that hasn't been proven much by my blog. At least, not compared to what I used to write. The first time I write this post, it sounded like an apology. But that's not really the message I want to convey. Yes, I wish I were posting more. I also wish I had super strength or a cool utility belt, but those things aren't happening right now either. Maybe some day . The truth is I have been keeping busy. I'm not sitting back, sipping lemonade. I've never c...
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