Romans 2:21-24 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. KJV

May was my busy month at work this year. Normally it is June, but recent law changes and the economy have our clients nervous and needing answers earlier.

I have an hour drive to work on the interstate when there is no traffic.  I spend this time listening to Third Day, Casting Crowns, Amy Grant, and others, and communing with God since there isn't anyone else to talk to ;-)

On Wednesday, two and half weeks ago, during our morning drive, God brought together all the thoughts He wanted me to blog about, including an email He wanted me to write to my family and friends.  I was very excited and felt I needed to go home and write right then.  "But, Lord, I have weeks worth of work to do and May is half over". So I kept driving.  "Lord, just help me finish what I need to do at work, and then I will write what you want me to write."  I felt like my life was spilling over, it was so full.

That night at church, our pastor's sermon was about needing to let out our faith in order for God to fill us back up.  He actually used the physical body metaphor (love you, Jason).  I knew that all the thoughts God had put into my head that morning were not doing any good sitting in my head and were going to spill out if I did not take the time to write them, even if nobody ever read them, even if everyone else thought I was crazy or self-important.  I asked the congregation present to pray for me and what I knew God wanted me to do.  That Friday night, I wrote the blog entry "Hell is real", and sent the email that God wrote to my family and friends on Saturday morning.

The next Tuesday was a huge deadline and I was planning to work late (again) to finish that day's work.  Just before noon, I started having stomach cramps.  They kept getting worse and coming in waves, until I was feeling nauseas.  I went into the bathroom for an hour.  "Lord, if this illness is serving your purpose, please let it continue, otherwise, please let it go away".  Nothing. That prayer works for me 9 times out of 10 - I usually feel better immediately.  "Lord, please, I cannot get this work done feeling this way."  Still, very painful waves. "Lord, if you had sent me home this way last week, I would have understood why". 

I guess my body was behaving according to Jason's physical body metaphor, since by working 11-12 hours a day in addition to my 2-3 hours of commuting, I had thrown it off schedule.  A few coworkers noticed me coming out of the bathroom and could tell by the way I looked that I was ill.  One offered to drive me to the clinic at CVS pharmacy.  Another offered me the ginger ale she had just bought (a good Christian friend who immediately thought that must have been the reason she bought the ginger ale just before coming to the bathroom just in time to find me coming out looking ill).

I did not see how I could drive an hour home feeling the way I was, but I was not accomplishing anything sitting in the bathroom at work.  But then the ginger ale helped with the nausea, so I felt I might be able to limp home. The coworker still offered to drive me to CVS, but I told her I could drive at least that far myself. I did not know if a clinic could help me, but maybe they could give me something to help me drive the rest of the way home.

It took me three hours to get home, but God showed me why He sent me home along the way.  I drove to where my coworker and I thought the CVS was, but it was a Rite-Aid.  I decided to drive north on the highway that parallels the interstate, first to see if I could find a CVS, and second, to be close to parking lots where I could stop along the way.  The first CVS I found did not have a clinic, so they gave me directions to one that did.  It was a little bit off of my route home, but in the right general direction, so I drove there.

I went inside and stood outside the clinic, trying to decide whether or not to sign in.  I was feeling better between waves, so I decided to leave.  Outside, I had another bad wave.  Then I saw my own little personal "God wink", as Juanita Mae (Higherground) on mychurch calls them based on the book she read, so I went back inside.  The lady who ran the clinic told me that stomach ailments were not on the list of illnesses they treat, so I left again. 

On the way out the second time, I saw a car with two bumper stickers.  The first read "When the church ruled the world, they called it the Dark Ages".  The second said "Hands that help are better than lips that pray".  I had never felt slapped for being a Christian before like I did reading those bumper stickers.  Then I realized that both statements are true, but the animosity that was conveyed by the fact that this person decided to display them boldly on their car surprised me.

When I finally made it home, sitting in the bathroom, I asked God why He had shown me those bumper stickers.  I don't read my bible in the bathroom (cannot bring myself to take it in there).  Instead, I have Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield of the Mind Devotional".  That day I read Devotional number 75, which has Romans 2:21-24 (above) as its opening bible verse. I thought about it. If the person with the bumper stickers really does have the animosity toward the church that I felt when I read them, whose fault is it?  Can I really blame the person who has never been properly introduced to God as I know Him?  Does the church itself do enough to stop those feelings Satan feels he has the liberty of planting?  Is there anything we are doing to make people feel like that?  I know Romans 2:21-24 was written to the Pharisees and other Jews who were too self-important to accept that Jesus was the Messiah they had been anticipating for thousands of years, but does it still apply today?

The next morning I was feeling better. I had the thought that maybe God did not want me to just change my own behavior, maybe He actually wanted me to witness to the person with the bumper stickers.  So I wrote a letter, and drove the long way to work, knowing that the chances of that car being at that CVS again were very slim, unless that person worked there.  The car was not there, so I guess that was not God's purpose.  I'll put the letter here, because it is not doing anyone any good sitting in my purse.

Dear Sir or Ma'am,

God agrees with your bumper stickers, except He does want you to pray.

Matthew 23:8-13,

I Corinthians 13:1-4 (King James version uses the word charity where other versions use the word love),

I Thessalonians 5:17

Please don't let the world (or the church) come between you and God.  There are alot of churches doing their best to help people. Prayer, in my experience, is one of the best ways.

Doing my best to help,

Margo Burdette
Adairsville, GA
Bethel Baptist Church member