Who's A Pig?

        Joel Barker tells about a man who was driving up into the mountains in his souped-up Porche, headed for his vacation cabin for the weekend, when screaming around the curve ahead, bearing straight for him on his side of the road, careened a convertible driven by a woman with her hair streaming in the wind.  She jerked the wheel and barely missed him as she sped by.  Just as she got even with his car, she leaned toward him and shouted at the top of her voice, “PIG!”  How dare her!  He angrily thought.  I’m on my side of the road; she has veered into my lane, almost out of control.  How dare her shout pig at me!  So not to be outdone, he turned and yelled after her at the top of his lungs as she continued down the mountain road, “SOW!”  He regained control of his car, speeded up as he rounded the curve and promptly ran head-on into a pig. 
        There are times that we misunderstand what someone is trying to convey.  We take their words as an offense when they should be received as a warning.  Being a pastor for many years, I have done my share of warning people about the whip-out that was just ahead.  If only they had listened.  They would not be in the tangle they’re in today. 
        I realize that many people are sick, miserable, and empty because they got offended at honest warnings.  It appears that pride is so deeply rooted within people that even after a serious warning they continue as though they are smarter than their counselor.  Or could it be that many have just misunderstood the warning.  Maybe they thought they were being called a pig when the fact is they were just being warned about the pig in the road. 
        The Word of God is the “in your face” truth.  The purpose is to keep us from being stressed out, unproductive, and getting into a wreck.  Jesus came to give everyone abundant life yet there are many who get offended at His word.  Especially when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can come to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).  His words are meant to provoke us to live right.  They are true.  If people will receive them they will live a cut above.
        Jesus spoke pointedly about our invisible enemy and that his objective is to steal, kill, and destroy.  He warns us about evil deception, still many are speeding on with no concern.  Not long ago I heard Oprah Winfrey say to her fan base that there are a million ways to God and that everyone just chooses the one they want.  So who is telling us the truth: Jesus or her?  Which one really loves us?  I would rather put my trust in the one that the angel said, “For behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). 
        Jesus Christ proved His love for us; therefore, I will trust Him.  Don’t be like the man in the Porche who got offended at the warning.  It is the costly way to go.       

---