Sulfuric Acid, Garlic, Tar, Mentholatum, and Dirty Socks

July 23, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
As we rode past the paper mill in Jesup, the odor was almost breath-taking. I wondered out loud how many of the employees had grown accustomed to it, no longer even noticing it. It brought back memories (not good ones!) from my growing-up days, when winds would carry the odor from the paper mill in Macon, some 40 miles to Reynolds, where I lived. The stench was terrible. It still is.
One of the members of my flock at GCF, Luke Wicker, invited me and my son, Michael, on a fishing trip to Morgan’s Lake, just off the Altamaha River, near Jesup, Georgia. Actually, there were four of us, as Luke picked up his brother, Pete, on his way down to Jesup. We were all very excited about fishing, especially after one look into the cooler of a couple of men, who had just returned to the fish camp. We quickly put our boats into the water, and got busy, not fishin’, but catchin‘! It soon became obvious that this was going to be a fisherman’s paradise.
We couldn’t help but notice, however, that the stench of the aforementioned paper mill was very prevalent. Interestingly, the longer we stayed, the more accustomed we be-came to the odor; the incredible scenery and the bountiful fishing were both powerful distracters!
At the end of the trip, we were all tired, so I iced-down the fish (some of the healthiest looking fish I have ever seen!) in one of my coolers and brought them home, where, motivated by the anticipation of a good fish fry, I would clean them. About two fish into the cleaning process, I said to Michael, “These fish smell just like that paper mill!” He brushed me off, thinking I was “imagining things.”
Well, sure enough, according to plan, I cooked a good mess of them, and lo and be-hold, they tasted just like that paper mill smelled and Michael agreed. (For those of you who do not know what a “mess” of fish is, listen up: it is about two more fish than the invited crowd can eat). Needless to say, this meant that I had more than a “mess,” because, well, I think you can understand why. I now have three gallon milk jugs of frozen fish in my freezer, that I can only discard. Trust me, not even the folks living under the bridge will eat these.
As of this afternoon, I have checked and that paper mill is permitted to dump, what-ever it is dumping, into the Altamaha River and is, therefore, meeting the EPA standards. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if they weren’t, as that company has plenty of money and enough political clout to get away with dumping toxic waste by the ton into the river, if it was so inclined.
A further check revealed that there is a lawsuit in the works, attempting to get this company to do something about this travesty; however, it is my guess that Jesus won’t live long enough to see any positive result.
Interestingly, whatever they are dumping must be good for the fish, as they are thriving (some of the largest bream I have ever seen!), but they are NOT for eating, unless you happen to like the combined taste of sulfuric acid, garlic, tar, mentholatum, and dirty socks.
So much for that. Now on to my point: substitute “religion” in the place of this paper mill and the resulting picture is much the same. Few have any idea what it is dumping into the river of their lives, and most are deceived, as to the significance of its affect upon their lives.
In contrast, taste and see that the Lord is good! “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:13 NASB).