Tuesday, February 26, 2008

swimming in blood.

I read a story today about a diver that was killed by a shark near the Bahamas. The diver was part of a "cageless" dive. Here is a description from the story:

In shark-dive excursions, dead fish and fish entrails are used to attract the sharks and bring them close to the divers. Cageless dives put divers and sharks in close proximity, without a metal underwater cage protecting the diver.

So basically, the tour operator bloodies the water, throws in some chum (fish parts) and then tells the tourists to jump in.

That's ridiculous but in some ways we do the same thing every day. The water might not be as red, the sharks not as obvious or as visually ominous, but I promise, it's so easy to dive without a cage in this world of ours.

Take for instance my friends that struggle with porn. When they go on a business trip, alone, to Vegas, there are certain things to do to make sure they have a cage in the water so to speak. They can get the front desk to put parental lock on the television in their room. They can schedule regular phone calls with accountability partners. They can set limits on how late they'll stay out, where they'll eat dinner etc.

They can make sure that if there are sharks, they're safe within the cage of God's protection.

My challenge to you tonight is to think about the shark story. What kind of diver are you? Are you jumping in unprotected? Are you swimming in blood? Or are you wrapped safely in the security of a cage?

2 comments:

Aaron said...

at times i'm in a cage or two of accountability...other times I'm naked in the water. It's so easy to swim in bloody water. I'm daily trying to make sure I'm in a cage in this area. Thanks for the friendly nudge.

Pastor Nick said...

Only through God's help are we truly able to be free from our addictions that we need these cages for. However, even when we become free, we still need to realize that we still need those cages to help.