My wife gets onto me about leaving partial bottles of water around the house and in my car. She has a valid point. I am getting better about finishing the bottled water at home. But I have an excuse for not finishing a bottle when it is in my car.
Sometimes, if I am going to drive somewhere, I will take a bottle of water from the refrigerator to drink on the way. There is nothing like getting into a hot car during the summertime and taking a big drink of ice-cold water. The colder the better. And there is nothing more disgusting than picking up that partially full bottle after it has been sitting in a hot car for a while, pouring a big gulp into your mouth and suddenly realizing that it is not cold anymore. It is not even room temperature.
Now the water is warmer than warm; somewhere between room temperature and hot is what is known as “lukewarm”. Nasty. It makes you want to spit it out.
In the Book of Revelation, God uses the Church of Laodicea as an example of becoming “lukewarm”. He was pointing out their actions. He wasn’t describing their water.
Revelation 3:15-16 says “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”
In that age, room-temperature water was considered dangerous water. It bred bacteria easily. There was no chlorine or other chemicals to sterilize it. Cold water came from a flowing spring or river, and hot water was something which had been placed over a fire and cooked or cleaned. Anything in between was usually suspicious and sometimes worthless.
One of my mentors and Sunday School teachers growing up in Shawnee, Oklahoma was a great man by the name of Dale Gibson. Dale often taught from books and tied the readings to the Bible verses. He explained that in the late 1800s, there were some politicians who claimed to support one party but voted for the other. They were called “Mugwumps”. They were also known as “fence straddlers” or people who had a foot on either side. As Dale explained with the above verse, they were lukewarm.
One of the things I truly admire about my wife, Donna, is that she sees so many things as black or white. If it is a rule, it is to be followed. That is why she is so good as a leader in her profession. The people who work with her or for her know exactly what to expect. There are no grey areas or blurred lines.
Matthew 6:24 talks about the grey areas in life. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
That same expectation was required of the Church of Laodicea and it is required of us too. Not my rules. God’s rules.
If we go to church on Sunday and act like Christians, then during the week our actions look just like what the rest of world is doing, then we are just like the “Mugwumps”. We are “grey”. We are “lukewarm”. And the outcome of being “lukewarm” has scary consequences.
God put the exclamation mark at the end of that sentence for a reason. “…I will spit you out of my mouth!” I would say that He is serious.
higley rides again 