Have you ever had a sudden impulse to do something without thinking through the consequences? Imagine being in a grocery store and spying a bunch of peaches stacked in a huge pyramid and you see one that looks too juicy and nice to ignore. However there is just one minor problem, that peach is stacked towards the bottom of the pile, but it is so-o-o-oooo luscious looking. Temptation wins the battle and you reach for it.
When you remove it, the pyramid collapses sending peaches tumbling in every direction. Aghast you quickly look around hoping no one will discover your idiocy, but alas scores of people are watching as peaches cascade down from the pile, spilling in every direction including rolling by their feet.
Well that’s what happened to me yesterday. It was too hot to get out and about, so I spent the day working on my new book and church matters. Towards mid-afternoon I was bored silly. I don’t know why I did it, (please don’t ask), but just for the heck of it I decided to send a buddy of mine the following text:
“Just farted n thought of u”.
Before I’d even given it a second thought, I pressed send. Within seconds I get a panicky phone call from another friend of mine who has a Gospel ministry. “Hey Bob, did you know that when you send a group text that it sends it to every member of the group? You just sent that text to me and every member of my family and some of my closest personal friends”.
OMG!
Before I could answer, my phone lost its signal and dropped the call; however the lost signal didn’t stop me from receiving text responses. Similar to peaches rolling all around the store I started receiving text after text in rapid succession from everyone in the group.
“That makes me feel so good and I hope it also made you feel the same.”
“Who in the world is this???? Somebody tell me . . .”
“I don’t know”
“No clue . . .”
“Ok funny person reveal yourself.”
“It was a friend of mine in Florida. He did not know that his text was going to 9 people at the same time. He is a joker and was having some fun with me. Sorry about that.”
“Now that’s funny.”
“Yeppers. Bet he feels AWKWARD . . .”
So I went outside where I could get a better signal and called my friend back and apologetically told him that I didn’t mean to send that text to him much less his entire family. The group text he’d sent to me and others had a mutual friend of ours, (who is in prison ministry with me and crude in his own right) listed in the header. When I sent my text I clicked on his name thinking it would go to him. Instead it went to all of the members of the group text.
To add insult to injury the original target of the text, my ex-convict prison ministry buddy, immediately sent the following text to me to rub it in:
“Smooooooooth move Clem. You really know how to impress nice folks. Try a little Beano. It might help with your problem.”
“Yeppers” I do feel a little “awkward” and it’s a safe bet that I will not be sending out any e-mails today detailing my gastro activity, (or maybe ever again).
As I thought of this fiasco this morning I am reminded that God sees all of our idiocy in the raw. Then something flashed through my mind . . . Had I sent the text to the intended recipient he would have smarted off back to me, but there would not have been the furor that developed.
Hmmm . . . Do you think God might have had something to do with this in order to teach me a valuable lesson about why I should not send vulgar messages to people?
I don’t know why I sin and do the stupid things I do. I’m so glad that we have a forgiving God that cares for fools like me in spite of my many faults . . .
Romans 8:10
“And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.