Danny True
How many times have we said “It just doesn’t feel right” OR “that feels SO good!”? Those are common expressions however there are some things in them that we need to explore. It MAY save your life someday!
If you went past the 3rd grade you know that we have five senses (of course, we all know that mothers have a additional one – extrasensory perception – in knowing where her kids are and what they are up to)!
Most of us take our sensory functions for granted. If you have been unfortunate to have experienced the loss of one of those senses you are more aware of just how important they are. Those who are born with a loss usually experience enhancement of their remaining senses.
Like all body parts, none is more important than another. They all have a necessary function. This would be a good opportunity to talk about being a part of “Christ’s Body”, but - not yet.
The purpose of this writing is to point out ho
w easily we can be deceived by the functions of our senses. We are all familiar of the fable of putting a frog in a cold skillet and generally increasing the heat until he gets cooked! Well, there is a measure of truth to that. If you are fortunate to have a hot tub, you set the temperature to a tolerable, comfortable level. However, if yours is like mine and using solar heating, if you disable the limiting switch, the temp can gradually creep up to a dangerous level before you know it. The same applies if you are in a room where the A/C is off; you can start sweating before you realize that you need the air conditioning turned on.
The eyes can be easily tricked. How many times have you flinched, thinking something is coming up beside you only to realize that you saw a bird out of the corner of your eye fly by at some distance from you? And, what about the shimmering of a hot road or a mirage appearing like water or as a “city way out near the horizon”?
The sense of smell is the one that can be devastating. The olfactory nerves have a “feature” that allows the sense of smell to be diminished after a period of exposure. This can be good or bad depending on where you are; whether you are “up” or “downwind”! For instance, if you work in a fish processing house, you “get used to” the aroma to the point where you don’t even notice it. Another example; when you return from a vacation or after some time away from home, your house “smells”! Actually, it smells that way all the time but you are “used to” it. Being away allows your senses to “forget” or be reset. The same with “body odor” – you don’t smell your own, and probably would receive offense if someone mentioned it to you!
During the last century, when I lived in Tennessee, my wife and I were at a Women’s Club Christmas dinner and dance at a local fraternal club house. During the dinner, one after another, people started passing out at the tables. A few had taken advantage of the club’s bar but I noticed some who had passed out were “abstainers”. So, I knew that it wasn’t alcohol consumption that was causing the situation.
I had just begun a closer walk with the Lord and most there knew that. The president of the women’s club ran over to me and said, “Danny, start praying”! I told her I already was. Very shortly I felt I had an answer to prayers, and went to the PA microphone and told everyone to leave the building. They did.
The Rescue Squad had been called and they took half a dozen people to the hospital emergency room. The doctor there said they had been exposed to carbon monoxide gas and if we had delayed the evacuation just a few minutes longer, they and many others would have died!
We later learned that there was a leak in the exhaust vent over the grill in the kitchen, but with all the aroma of the steaks cooking, etc., it was not noticeable. And, of course, carbon monoxide is odorless.
A few years ago I was attending a men’s “retreat” and, after some time into the first meeting we could smell an acrid odor. It “faded away” after a while and we tended to dismiss it. But, an alert attendee said we needed to vacate the facility until the source could be determined. It turned out to be a broken sewer pipe in one of the rest rooms. But, it could have been a more deadly gas!
In house fires, the majority of people who die are not killed by the flames but are overcome by the smoke. That’s why smoke detectors are so important. If you are asleep, the smoke can progressively get stronger and you asphyxiate before you can awaken!
In a former posting (Of Lavender & Llamas), I talked about some of the subtle ways the enemy (satan) uses to deceive or trick us. He knows that by clever manipulation he can get to us through “our senses.” As I said previously, we need to always be on guard for those kinds of tricks. He will keep trying but we can win through our vigilance. Don’t live in fear but DO stay alert.
So, stay on guard – as a watchman on the wall. Inspect your smoke detectors, watch out for low-flying birds, and, for goodness sakes, don’t go to dinner with a FROG!
Have a good, safe day.
