Siphoning

It was an intriguing story anyway you looked at it. A 70-year-old man, nonchalantly parks his heavy duty pickup truck with large trailer near the curb of a gas station, raises the hood, and proceeds to have "engine trouble." Or at least, that is the appearance that he desired to give. Once, 70-year-old Hobert Gibson even "chatted with a Florida Highway Patrol officer while on one of his missions."

His mission, you ask? Over the course of several months - on perhaps a daily basis - Gibson siphoned perhaps thousands of gallons of gasoline from the underground storage tanks of gas stations and convenience stores. A trap door in the trailer allowed him to obscure the view of passersby as he stole up to 3250 gallons of gas at a time. No wonder our gas prices are so high!

As I thought about that 'crime' it occurred to me that a similar crime happens every Sunday in churches all across the land. A worship leader, minister, choir, musicians, etc., spend all week carefully preparing, through the guiding of God's Holy Spirit, a time to worship and adore our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As His children, we are blessed with opportunities to raise our voice in song - whether or not we can carry a tune in a bucket. We are challenged to be in His presence in spite of our sinful nature. And, we are commissioned to fellowship with HIM in a way that is second to none.

Yet, every Sunday, there are those who will pull their "trailer" in and siphon the fuel of the Spirit from the Body of Christ through their critical spirit, their short-sighted thinking and their overall "It's all about ME" attitude. I want ... I want ... I want ... seems to be their mantra. Yet that is in stark contrast to Jesus attitude which had the mantra ... I serve ... I serve ... I serve ... even to the point of death ... I serve because of YOU.

Are you a servant or a siphon?