DO NOT TOUCH! 7/3/10

I believe it is a natural phenomenon that when we are instructed with DO NOT we want to immediately do it. Do not touch; do not step; do not walk; do not try; do not; do not; do not! Right away, our first inclination is to do the opposite of what the sign says.

I always hate it when my desires override my common sense button. Haven't you experienced looking right at the sign that says; "Do not touch" and you reach out merely to point it out to someone else? Haven't you experienced the guard standing at the door seeing you with your hand out stretched towards the rare painting of one of the masters; grabbing for his billy club ready to pounce on you while yelling at the top of his voice; "Do not touch the painting! Read the signs!"

I remember taking my two teenagers and a couple of their friends to Crater Lake. There are many signs that say "Do not go beyond the wall!" It is obvious as to why you are not to go beyond the wall. The gravel is sandy and can easily shift causing one to begin sliding down the hill towards the lake. To retrieve someone who has fallen to the bottom is a very difficult task and sometimes they are never recovered. One of the friends stepped over the wall. I yelled to him to get back where he was and then I told him why. I read in the paper several days later that a teenager visiting from the East Coast fell to his death, in just about the same spot our young man found himself.

Haven't you touched an object in an exclusive glass exhibition and found you had a guard on your tail throughout the display, which was quite noticeable to everyone except for you? You knew that you weren't going to break or destroy anything. You are an adult and are aware of the dangers. Don't tell me I am the only one that does that sort of thing! I know and you know that most signs of this nature are for our own good and protection. Sometimes it is just wanting no problems when these signs are posted.

Even in God's word we are instructed with things we are not to do or touch. God is explicit in what we are to do; in what we are not to do and the consequences of either path we take. In the Old Testament we are all familiar with what we call the Ten Commandments. The thou shalt nots are plainly spoken and easy to understand. The world finds it hard to comply with these instructions for happiness, perhaps it is because they are from God! Yes, happiness is the right word! When we don't do any of those things our lives are much happier. As Christians we conciously make an effort to keep in control the wanton desires of our natural bodies.

In the New Testament God gives us Two Commandments which refines the Ten. They give us license to do something. "And He said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great first commandment. And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

I find it ironic that I have no problem with keeping these two commandments. I didn't ever have a problem with the ten. But the signs I read, still give me pause and I want to reach out and touch. I pray that God who is continally working in me will give me another ounce of patience; understanding and a willingness to adhere to the signs.

"Oh be careful little hands what you do!" "Oh be careful little feet where you go!" "Oh be careful little eyes what you see!" "Oh be careful little ears what you hear!" "For the Father up above is looking down with love, Oh be careful little one what you do!"

Taking into account that we are the only Jesus that some will see, we need to be more circumspect in regard to reading the signs. By Jane Ann Crenshaw 6/28/10