Have you ever spilled anything? Some milk? Some gosspip? Something that was expensive and broke? Did you cry? Are you crying about the gulf coast? Or, just blaming?
CNN, The Today Show, Glen Beck, MTV, even the President have blamed BP. Do we as Christians join them? Is it a Christian response to blame BP? Yes, it is their spill. They are responsible so to speak. But why? Last check, most college students have a car. As do their parents. Cars, seemingly everywhere in North America at least, means lots of fuel.
BP’s desire to drill and pump only is driven by our desire to drive. And not only a want or need to drive but our need to consume. Wal Mart, Target, Food Lion, last checked…transport with 18 wheeler. Apple, Microsfot and Intel…ship with UPS and FedEx. United and Delta…fly with jets. Jimmy Johnson races… a car. If we are ready to blame BP, are we equally ready to blame ourselves? Is it not our hole, our spill? The writer of Deuteronomy warned us not to acquire too much (17:16). Why? The author of Hebrews called our baggage our “weight.” And with that weight, sin is clinging closely (12:1-3). Our weight … our burdens are heavy; our sin is portly. Jesus did, after all, tell his disciples to pack light.
So, let’s try to start packing lighter. It will keep our checked luggage fee down, our need for back pain relief lower, our weigh stations less busy, and our feet less tired. If we lower our need for fuel, we will lower our risk for spills. Packing it lightly is like a form of fasting. Abstaining and refraining, a step closer to Jesus. We can pack less. We can eat less. We can buy less. We can drive less. We can blame BP less. Joel 2:15