Articles
“A Couple of Donuts Short”
If you drive very often it is likely that you have had opportunity to observe a mattress laying on the side of the highway. Sunday evening, on the way home after worship, I saw such a mattress laying on the side of Walt Stephens Road. Seeing that mattress made me wonder about the thought process of a person who would transport a mattress by tying it to the top of their car, then drive fast enough to cause the ties to break.
I certainly do not know the thought process that goes into every instance a mattress is lost this way. But with the frequency that mattresses are seen on the side of the road, even on the side of an interstate highway, it causes a person to think that the reasoning process might be “a couple Krispy Kreme donuts short of a dozen.”
If there is no tailwind, a car traveling at 45 mph is putting a 45-mph wind against a large surface area. That is a lot of pressure that mattresses are not designed to handle, and cars are not equipped to transport.
What’s the point?
Christians need to be wiser than the world. “Wisdom is better than rubies” (Prov. 8:11). As you look around you see Christians who have fallen by the wayside, who have been overcome by temptations or by the cares of the world. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 13 in the parable of the sower and the seed. People who heard the word were choked and overcome by riches and cares of the world, or by trials. Foolishness may cost you your soul.
There are many things in this world that may, on the surface, seem to present no real danger to your soul. But when you look on the side of this road you see people who, at one time, were followers of Christ, but now have been lost along the way. The rope that tied them to Christ was broken by the winds of the world. Why take the chance?
Also, you could cause someone else to lose their soul. Does what you are doing present a danger to those who may be following you? Could it cause a brother or sister who is weak in the faith to stumble? Paul committed himself to the genuine care for others when he wrote, “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Cor. 8:13). The phrase, “Don’t do as I do; do as I say,” has very little instructional value.
Another point to consider: Does it bring glory to God? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Think back over the past few days; has God been glorified by your thoughts, your words and your actions all the time? Or, have your thoughts, words and actions been ambivalent toward God? Have your thoughts, words and actions been a stain on God’s glory?
Making sure that your mattress does not wind up on the side of the road is smart. Making certain that your soul does not wind up in the lake of fire is godly and eternal wisdom.
Anytime I see a mattress tied to the top of a car, I must admit, I do not think complimentary thoughts. And, I stay well away from that vehicle.
Before this article was finished, I just saw someone’s bedding leaning against the medium on I-75 near the Mt. Zion exit. To quote Forest Gump’s mother, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
