Wet Paint – Sunday, January 26, 1997
No matter who we are or where we come from, we all react to certain warning signs the same way. We all know to pull over when we hear a siren. None of us would ignore the shout of “Fire!” or a call for help. Likewise, we all know the symbol for poison.
It is tragic, however, that so few of us recognize spiritual warning signs. They are all around us, as prevalent as the signs which warn us of physical danger. Yet, because they are easier to ignore, we often pay them no attention. It is as if we sometimes walk right past a “wet pain” sign, sit down on a freshly painted park bench, so to speak, and walk off with paint-striped clothing.
Great danger can be found in watching movies or reading material which extols immorality. It is a wet paint that colors our very souls, eating away at our essence like poison taken in small increments. Offensive words and actions soon become acceptable. Eventually they find their way into our personal behavior.
The desire for material wealth can also be a spiritual warning sign. While riches can be used to bless others, most of us are tempted to spend extra money on luxuries for ourselves. Soon we become proud of our designer labels, our expensive cars, our opulent homes. We feel disdainful of those who have less taste or sophistication. We forget Christ’s warning not to oppress “…the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor”1
Self-pity is also a spiritual warning sign. It is a wet paint that covers our windows, making it impossible to see outside ourselves. When we feel sorry for ourselves, we become self-absorbed and negative. We fail to take action that could solve our problems and blame others for our misery. We become useless to the world when one of life’s purposes is to be useful.
If certain magazines, music, fashions, and attitudes came with bold warning signs, we might more easily avoid “the Contagion of the world’s slow stain,”2 as the great English poet Shelley once described it. Instead, these dangers come disguised as pleasure, success, and entitlement.
We must see with spiritual eyes what is hidden from common view. When anything pulls us further away from our Father in Heaven, rather than inspires us to grow closer to Him, perhaps we can imagine a bold “Wet Paint” sign, warning us that even one brush against such hazard could leave us spotted and soiled. Let us step carefully and avoid all dangers even those which bear no labels.
1 Old Testament, Zachariah 7:10
2 Percy Bysse Shelley, Adonais (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1969), p. 140.
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January 26, 1997
Broadcast Number 3,519