Half Inch

“As she heard the rumble of the undercarriage being lowered, the stewardess motioned for her to put her seat back in the upright position.   She pressed the button on the armrest and the seat-back moved forward – about a half inch.”  ICE by Mark Kane.

I read this a few weeks ago and it just won’t go away.  I now make the decision to write about it. Fasten your seatbelts!

We are supposed to do what we can to keep life steady and safe.  We are supposed to follow the rules to prevent misfortune.  We are supposed to be aware and protect ourselves from disaster. 
During the course of life, we hear a number of common phrases that remind us to do just that.  We’ve heard them from our parents, our teachers and our pastors.   We’ve heard them from our friends and colleagues.  They roll off our tongues automatically.

• Look both ways before crossing the street
• Stay in groups
• Stay away from dark alleys
• Drive defensively
• Don’t text and drive
• Be fully insured.
• Open an IRA
• Maintain a budget
• Stop drop and roll
• Never pay full price
• Better late than never
• Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
• Keep your friends close and your enemies closer
• And yes, fasten your seatbelts.

This is true with our spiritual life as well. We are supposed to direct our thoughts toward Jesus and trust God.  There is a way to live righteously.  We are to desire a closer relationship with God.  Of course, there are hundreds of common expressions used for this as well.

• Spare the rod, spoil the child
• Money is the root of all evil
• God works in mysterious ways
• Moderation in all things
• Where two or three are gathered together
• God won’t give you more than you can handle
• Everything happens for a reason
• When God closes a door, He opens a window
• For everything there is a season
• Eye for an eye
• Pride comes before the fall
• Don’t cast your pearls before swine
• Many are called, few are chosen
• The Truth shall make you free
• It’s more blessed to give than to receive
• God helps those who help themselves
• God gives and He takes away

We are probably very familiar with most of these articulations (some biblical, some not so much) and we say them automatically.  Is this a good idea, though?  Have you ever thought that ‘canned’ or ‘sound-byte’ advice might take a bit of thought before accepting these words as valuable to us or others? 

I feel like I’ve done this without thinking on many an occasion.  I’ve heard the declarations.   I’ve shared them as well.  But maybe it’s time I think about them more in terms of how they are helping (or hindering) me and others in efforts to reach the goal. 

I’ve been on a number of flights.  I’ve heard the instructions given by the flight crew.  And I’ve been told to bring my seat to the upright position before touching down.  I push the release button automatically.  And yet, consider this:  If that plane fell out of the sky, how much safer do you think you’d be by moving your seat a full half-inch to that upright position ?

Well, this post is a little ‘outside the box’ so you can ‘take it with a grain of salt’.  I was just trying to ‘call a spade a spade’ without ‘beating around the bush’. Perhaps I am ‘barking up the wrong tree’ but for the rest of the day, I’ll ‘put on my thinking cap’ while I ‘pass the buck’ to my readers.

Like you, I’m hoping for better next week!