August 17, 2003
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost
"It's Not Booby Trapped, But . . ."
(Ephesians 5:15-20)
Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn
The Road Runner cartoons, Wile E. Coyote and all the Acme products he bought may be the reason we have so many warning labels on products toady. Warning labels points to dangers in life. Most warning labels make sense but some of them are just downright ridiculous and makes you wonder WHY a company had to put that warning label on their product.
I found a couple of websites devoted to nothing but inane warning labels. Let me share a few.
"Do not put in mouth." -- On a box of bottle rockets.
"Not dishwasher safe." -- On a remote control for a TV.
"Do not attempt to stop the blade with your hand." -- In the manual for a Swedish chainsaw.
"Warning: May contain nuts." -- On a package of peanuts.
"Caution: The contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish." -- On a bottle of shampoo for dogs.
"Do not use in shower." -- On a hair dryer.
"Warning: May contain small parts." -- On a frisbee.
"Not suitable for children aged 36 months or less." -- On a birthday card for a 1 year old.
"For use by trained personnel only." -- On a can of air freshener.
"Fragile. Do not drop." -- Posted on a Boeing 757.
"Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage." -- On a portable stroller.
"May be harmful if swallowed." -- On a shipment of hammers. (1)
What I want to know is, are we all related Wile E. Coyote. I know some folks who aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer, I've even been like that about certain things. But are we all dumber than a bowl of pudding? Apparently the Warning Label people think so.
Let's face it, life can be dangerous. Sometimes it can be like nothing more than an ongoing obstacle course. Or a mine field. You never know when something's going to blow up in your face or what the next challenge is going to be. Maybe that's why the game show Survivor is so popular.
This passage from Ephesians could be the warning label for the Christian life. Not a funny one but a serious one.
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NRSV)
[15] Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,
[16] making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
[17] So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
[18] Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
[19] as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
[20] giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The passage gives us our outline, I've just modernized the language or condensed the thought. "Life Is Not booby Trapped, But . . ." a life of faith is filled with all kinds of pitfalls. There is some preparedness training that we can take to make sure. Let's look at how to live carefully. Paul says we should: Be Prepared, Read the Manual, Stay Connected, Keep Your Focus, and Live Gratefully.
The first thing Paul tells us is to BE PREPARED. In verses 15 & 16 Paul says, "Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil." I understand that to mean BE PREPARED.
I spent 4 years in US Coast Guard, and seriously considered making a career out of it. One of the things I love most about the Coast Guard is it's "Semper Paratus" Always Ready. The main focus of the Coast Guard and the most exciting aspect of the work in the Coast Guard was search and rescue. Our job and our purpose was to save lives.
No matter how horrible the storm, no matter how high the waves, we were called to go out. As a matter of fact, the saying was: "You have to go out but you don't have to come back." That's how dedicated the crews were.
It was boring as all get out, but we drilled for everything possible event we could think of. So that we could live up to our motto of "Always Ready."
In our Daily Walk with Christ, we're called to be just as ready. We're called to BE PREPARED. Why, because we never know when our faith will be tested. Or when we'll have the opportunity to share the Good News with others. Which of course is "making the most of the time" as Paul says.
BE PREPARED
Second Paul says: READ THE MANUAL. Actually he says in verse 17, "So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
What better place to start than with the book that contains the Word of God. A Book that describes the Will of God through the relationships and history of God's people.
Missionary Stuart Sacks was serving in Paraguay when Rafael, a Maka Indian, came to sit on his porch. Stuart stepped outside and asked Rafael what he wanted, to which he replied, "Ham, henek met." This meant "I don't want anything; I have just come near."
The missionary understood the simple meaning: Rafael didn't want anything from the American. He just wanted to sit on the porch because he simply enjoyed being near the missionary. (2)
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and God will draw near to you." NRSV. When draw near to the God each day through the reading and study of Scripture, God draws near to us and we begin to learn God's will for our lives. It's all in the manual. All we have to do is READ THE MANUAL.
Third Paul says: STAY CONNECTED: What he actually writes is: "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit."
We STAY CONNECTED through Prayer and worship. You see, being filled with the Spirit and seeking the ongoing presence and outpouring the Holy Spirit is essential to the Christian life because there are so many temptations out there, like the wine Paul wrote about. Those temptations pester us and nibble at us and try to distract us from our relationship with God. They try to overload the power grid of our faith. So what do we do?
A little boy and his father were hiking in the woods. They spotted a hawk circling above them. Suddenly, several black birds flew up, pestering the hawk. "Dad, why doesn't the hawk fight them off?" asked the boy. Motioning his son to be quiet, they watched the bird of prey spread his wings and soar high into the sky, leaving the other birds far behind.
The father explained, "When a hawk is being pestered, all it needs to do is catch the currents and rise above the reach of the pests." (3)
Isaiah 40:31 says: "But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles." NRSV
In other words, if we STAY CONNECTED through prayer and worship and don't forget to READ THE MANUAL, we'll be able to soar like eagles and rise above the temptations of life. But only if we STAY CONNECTED.
Fourth, Paul says KEEP YOUR FOCUS. Paul writes in verse 19: "sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts."
Why? So, you can keep your focus. Sometimes that's hard.
French Lick, Indiana, is well known to basketball fans as the boyhood home of basketball legend Larry Bird. In fact, many basketball fans come to take pictures of the street that is named in Bird's honor, Larry Bird Boulevard.
According to a sermon I read, one day, a couple of tourists came out to take pictures of themselves in front of the basketball-shaped street sign for Larry Bird Boulevard. They paid no attention to a jogger who passed by, and who was probably caught on the periphery of some of their photos. That jogger was Larry Bird. He was going through his daily work-out in the off-season. But these two tourists were so focused on the Larry Bird sign that they didn't even notice when the real Larry Bird passed by. (4)
Sometimes we get focused on the unimportant stuff of life and miss out on what's real and what's important. Paul tells us to stay focused on our relationship with God by singing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Let's face it, if the words and tunes of Christian music are running through your head and heart instead of a litany of all the problems of the world or list of ways you've been wronged or hurt, your life will be more buoyant.
Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and said in 4:8: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
If you do, then you'll be able to KEEP YOUR FOCUS.
The last thing Paul tells us in this passage is to LIVE GRATEFULLY. He says: [20] "[Give] thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Gratitude is one of the greatest gifts and greatest responses to God's gifts in our lives that we can give.
According to an old Guideposts story, for Christmas one year, Phyllis Wohlfarth's husband gave her a gold lapel pin. Phyllis said she only took a second to thank her husband for his gift. A week later, as she put on the lapel pin, she reflected on her husband's thoughtfulness. With more sincerity, she thanked him again. Her husband explained that the pin had belonged to his grandmother, so it was very special to him. Phyllis noted that if she hadn't offered the second "thank you," she might have never learned the significance of the pin. It was only when she took the time to reflect on the gift and offer a more sincere "thank you" that she really learned to appreciate her husband's gesture.
How often do we offer God a quick "Thank You" for our many blessings, and then forget about them? Or how often do we just take the blessings of God and never even say "Thank You." (5)
In 1st Thessalonians 5:18 Paul says: "Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." NRSV. In other words: LIVE GRATEFULLY.
Be Prepared, Read the Manual, Stay Connected, Keep Your Focus, and Live Gratefully. These are all designed to help us LIVE CAREFULLY.
Ten-year-old Ashley Danielle Oubré gave a speech at Washington, D.C.'s Mayoral Prayer Breakfast in 1995. In the speech, she reminded the listeners of Jesus' words in Matthew 18 that they must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of God. And she encouraged the adults in the audience to learn from their children how to get along together, how to trust one another, and how to trust God.
She ended by saying, "You teach us that when we have a problem, we should talk it out with others and with Jesus. You say that Jesus can solve all our problems, both big and small. But we notice when people get older and have problems, they are embarrassed to talk like that among themselves. We wonder if you really mean it, or is Jesus only for kids? I am still young enough to believe that Jesus knows how to solve my problems, the problems of the city, and of the world." (6)
I think Ashley hit the nail on the head. Some people would say I'm naive but I agree with Ashley. I still "believe that Jesus knows how to solve my problems, the problems of the city, and of the world."
But with all the bombardment from all the various forms of media, I have to remember and remind myself of that all the time. I have to "LIVE CAREFULLY" as Paul put it because when we look out at the world "It's Not Booby Trapped, But . . ." it is dangerous.
LIVE CAREFULLY, put Christ first and use this passage not only as a warning label but as a guide to Living.
1. http://rinkworks.com/said/warnings.shtml
2. http://www.tln.com/uplink/ August 14, 2003
3. http://www.tln.com/uplink/ August 4, 2003
4. Brad Preston, Bradford, PA.
5. "The Second Thank-You" by Phyllis Amy Wohlfarth, Guideposts, Nov. 1966, p. 11.
6. By Ashley Danielle Oubré, cited by Ravi Zacharias in Deliver Us From Evil (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997), pp. 197-198.
www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)
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