January 14, 2013
Sanitizing
Even though I’ve had my flu shot, I still take precautions. Sunday
after church we considered going to a buffet restaurant until I started
thinking about all those hands that touch the same serving spoon and all the youngsters
serving themselves who, bless their hearts, are walking Petri dishes.
Spiritually speaking, when we accept Jesus we are inoculated against sin, but
that doesn’t mean we are immune. James’ suggested precaution includes, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will
come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double–minded.” (James 4:7-8 NIV)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----I never really thought of buffets that way. But you are right; everybody shares the same handles. If I go to a buffet during flu season, I will remember to take with me a pair of latex gloves.
-----Being inoculated against sin must be like wearing those gloves. One thing we need to surely remember is that once in Christ we do not become sin free and functionally righteous. We are not inoculated against sinning. We still must grasp those serving utensils and serve ourselves. We were placed into a world where a great deal of effort is required for survival. Few other people come making that effort for us. Everybody has to make much effort for his own survival; self interest is a required course on this earth. If you do not lift the fork to your own mouth you will starve. If you do not pull the trousers over your own backside you will freeze. In a world of limited resources, every item consumed in your interest is consumed against the interests of someone else, especially if he particularly wanted to consume it, and certainly if you crawled over him to consume it. And that does not begin to consider the cute little cow that died so you could close your eyes and bask in the exquisite flavor of her rib-eye. Every life requires something else’s death.
-----Oddly enough, though, somehow that is not necessarily sin. Jesus pulled His own trousers on, too, which the poor guy next door did not get to wear, without sinning. I would fully expect that He savored a rib-eye or two at the cow’s horrific and bloody expense. But I know for certain He chowed down on at least one fish that would much rather have not been caught and fried, without sin. There must be something circumstantial that makes capturing something running for its life and killing it so you can maintain your own life - all very much self serving acts - not sin. Jesus did these things (just an aside for techno-geeks: Jesus may not have slaughtered the heifer or caught the fish Himself, but He certainly accepted somebody’s doing it or He would not have hung that fish over the fire on the seashore.)
-----Now I’m just supposing about all this. It is merely one of the many ponderings I enjoy. But maybe that circumstantial thing is God’s will. Jesus was not only very careful to do His Father’s will precisely, entirely, and only, but He was also careful to inform us that He was focused upon doing it. God willed us to wear clothing when He clothed Adam and Eve in skins. Too bad for the animals, for whom it got bloody. But God willed it. And He gave the animals fleeing for the preservation of their lives to man as food for the preservation of theirs. It was just His will as much as the giving of His Son was for the preservation of ours.
-----So when Jesus left our little quagmire, He left us here to stagger and wallow around in its muck trying to survive. That too was His Father’s will. None of it makes the cow or the fish any happier. But I suppose all this conflict required for life is why the earth and sky will flee from the face of the Judge on that great day when every one of us eaters are assembled before Him to reveal who ate according to their own will, and who ate according to His. Kind of like He'll be looking for who's got latex gloves.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment