It happened so fast. Last month I was visiting a church member at a fast-food restaurant close to the church building. I parked on the north side of the restaurant, not thinking about anything else but lunch and our conversation. When we finished, I took two steps out the door onto the shaded asphalt. Before I knew it, I was face up on the ground in the drive through lane. Bruised but not broken. Thankfully, the mom in the SUV was ready for anything.
No one has ever called me clumsy or uncoordinated, but then yesterday happened.
The back parking lot at the church building slopes toward the church garage. Every winter, the freeze – thaw – freeze cycle creates a thick sheet of ice in front of the garage doors. Don’t get ahead of me; let me tell the story.
Early Monday morning, I penguin walked across the ice, opened the large doors, and backed the church van out of the garage. Between the time I took the van out of the garage and drove it back into its stall, we received a quick two inches of sugary snow, covering the ice sheet.
My phone was to my ear as I exited the church van and closed the big garage door. I turned and took one step. In a moment my phone went flying. The precious McDonald’s coke splashed on the fresh snow. My wallet and keys spilled from my pockets, and my jacket and pants were covered. There I was again, face up on the ground.
It’s ok to laugh at the image.
This time my bum hurt and my right shoulder was not happy with the current status. It’s odd the things that cross the mind when laying on the ice, hoping nothing is broken, but sensing everything hurts. Truthfully, my mind flashed “take heed lest you fall.”
I memorized 1 Corinthians 10:12 as a kid, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” The verse that immediately follows instructs, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man…” (10:13). Obviously, Paul is not talking about slips on the ice and falls from a ladder. He’s talking about spiritual falls that come from neglect to carefully consider our surroundings and the danger that exists in the moment.
For the interested the CDC has some wild numbers in their Facts About Falls.
Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury.
One out of five falls causes a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury.
At the current trend, by 2030, seven will die every hour from a fall.
Each year about $50 billion is spent on medical costs related to non-fatal fall injuries and $754 million is spent related to fatal falls.
Interestingly, falls often are preventable. Stay off the ladder or step stool. Don’t climb on a chair to reach something. Pay attention to the ice covered driveway or parking lot and do the penguin walk.
According to 1 Corinthians 10, spiritual falls are also preventable. No one has to sin. Those who do are either careless or arrogant. Like the CDC facts about physical falls, spiritual falls have consequences. Ask Peter about the guilt and shame he experienced from his horrific fall. Ask King David about the generational impact and the high cost of his fall that left him face up on his bed. At a minimum, spiritual falls leave us embarrassed, hurting, and bruised. At the extreme, spiritual falls leave us bearing lifelong pain, permanent disability, and even death. The sin that leads to a fall is never worth the consequence.
I didn’t intend to fall when I did, but I could have taken measures to prevent them. If we listen to the apostle, there are measures we can take to prevent falls.
Pay attention to your surroundings (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Walk carefully in this world (Ephesians 5:15).
Stay off ladders (Romans 13:14).
Read the warnings (Psalm 119:11).
One last thought: what should we do if we fall? What do we do if there was a moment of careless inattention or foolish overconfidence? We listen to the Proverbs.
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again (Proverbs 24:16).
We get up from the fall. We confess our sin and determine to live faithful to our Lord by his grace. We learn from our error. May our Lord keep us all upright.
When I'm finished writing, I'm headed to the church garage. We'll see how it goes.
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.