Black Death

It is often invisible yet its results are always seen. By itself it can do nothing but when humans get involved it can be deadly. It can disappear without a trace but the effects of it can last a lifetime. What am I talking about? Two things really.

Wisconsin winters vary in type and intensity. It can be a bright, sunshiny, freezing cold day or it can be raining. The wind can blow fiercely at times and at others, it can be completely and totally calm. Occasionally, conditions can be just right, or wrong if you prefer, for some really nasty weather. Like earlier this week when it got really cold (-14 degrees) and then a few days later when it rained and then froze.

As you might have guessed the frozen rain and subsequent snow created a hidden danger for motorists. It was NOT a good time to be driving. Thirty minutes after I went through a particular stretch of freeway on my way home Tuesday night, the police shut it down due to black ice and the number of car and trucks in the ditches. Very dangerous!

There is another dangerous phenomenon that occurs in our world. It is even more dangerous than black ice. It too often occurs with little or no notice and its effect can last an entire lifetime. It's called sin.

Since sin carries some of the same characteristics as black ice does, I wonder, can we take any hints from dealing with black ice and apply them to the sin in our lives? Let's see.

1. Check the conditions. Watching the weather helps us know when black ice is likely to form. Having an accountability partner or self-examination can help us determine when our lives are "getting slippery."
2. Look for the signs. When we see cars spinning out of control ahead of us on the road, it might be a sign we need to slow down. When we catch ourselves doing things we shouldn't we need to re-think our decisions.
3. Prepare yourself. Having a good set of tires on your car can help in icy conditions. Also, having a tow rope is good. Read God's Word. If we prepare our hearts we are more likely not to get stuck or veer off the path.
4. Slow down! Slowing our speed on the road gives us more time to react. Slowing our decision making in like can lead to wiser choices.
5. Think! Our brains can often save our butts of the highway. Drive defensively! We can save our hearts from making mistakes if we just use them.

As we drive through this world, let us be ever-watchful. It's dangerous and slippery out there! Keeping the shiny side up and out of the ditches is good advice, not only for driving, but for life as well.

Be safe out there!!

"15 Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard. 16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly." - Proverbs 13:15-16

"20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:20-23

Winter Car Crashes - Black Ice
Jesus, Take The Wheel - Carrie Underwood