When I was growing up in Plainview, we boys used to make fun of Mr. Nat Hilton and Mr. Willie Withers. The reason? Both of them wore their “longhandle†underwear almost year round. For boys who had to be forced by our parents to put on “longhandles†in the dead of winter, such voluntary wearing of “longhandles†seemed ludicrous.
I thought of that as I was pulling on my thermals the other morning and wished I could go back and apologize to Mr. Nat and Willie. I would tell them that as I prepare the paperwork for my medicare years I understand. I have always been a little cold-natured, but the problem has increased in recent years.
One thing I have noted is that, as far as I know, no cold-natured person has ever married a cold-natured person. That has certainly been the case in our marriage. I tell Danielle that when she thinks the temperature in the house is just right, she can mark it down that I am about to freeze to death. One night I was putting on my overcoat, and she asked, “Where are you going?†I pointed to my recliner and said, “To that chair right there.â€
If this is a problem between two people in a marriage, it is even more of a problem when you get several hundred people together in a church. There are two things that can never be agreed upon in any church. One is how loud the sound system ought to be run, and the other is on what the thermostat should be set.
When William came to work as our custodian, I gave him a bit of advice that I picked up from Sarge, who used to be our custodian at First Baptist Church in Arcadia. Whenever anyone told him that it was too hot or too cold in the church, he would always respond, “I’m going to check on that right now.†Such a response did not commit him to any course of action, but it seemed to satisfy most people who had a complaint about the temperature.
I am encouraged by the metaphors that the Bible uses of the Christian life. As Jesus looked to the future, He warned of a time when “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold†(Matt. 24:12). Paul wrote to Timothy and encouraged him to develop and use his spiritual gift. Paul said, “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you†(2 Tim. 1:6).
We often talk about our need to develop a warm fellowship in the church. In order to do that, your contributions are needed. You can’t sit back and wait for it to happen. You have to help make it happen. You can’t be like the fellow who was critical of his wood heater. He said, “If it would give off a little heat, then I would add some wood.†It doesn’t work that way for heaters or for church fellowship.
One of the things that gives me the most hope for the future is the prospect of global warming. Until that occurs, however, then you and I need to make our own contributions to warming up our fellowship and the corner of the globe where we live.
