A friend shared this picture. I thought it was funny and serious at the same time. It made me wonder what was in the pipe. Then it made me think about the sign. I tried to track it down. I did an image source search, but it was unable to find a match. Then I typed in the words, “Do not Touch. Not only will this kill” and the screen erupted with pictures. Page after page of similar signs. Except they all seemed to just be merchandise to make money. There were water bottle stickers, T-shirts, dog shirts, hoodies, car decals, framed art, scented candles, refrigerator magnets, coffee cups, phone cases and more. The warning sign has become a joke.
I think because warning signs have become so common and seem so driven by lawyer overreach that now that we can hardly see them as real. We don’t take the seriously. We ignore the warning signs. We touch the wet paint to see if it really is wet. We walk too close to the edge. People text and drive while not earring their seat belts. We drive too fast. One writer has called it optimism bias. We don’t think it will happen to us. We eat bad food and pray for God’s blessings. We ignore the warning signs.
I was with a family in the hospital waiting room and overhead a man who was calling his family and describing why his wife was in emergency surgery and fighting for her life. Someone had crossed the double yellow no passing zone lines while trying to pass a truck. The car was in a hurry to get to see a sick relative. They ran head-on into his wife. He made a dozen calls having to explain it over and over again. It was chilling and emotional listening to his grief. By the end of it I wanted to yell to everyone follow the warning signs.
I have a picture on my phone of a warning sign that i saw in Ireland. It has a car falling off a cliff into the sea. It was posted near a harbor. The road runs right to the edge so that trucks can load and unload. There is no curb to stop a car from driving off into the water. From the road it is nearly impossible to see the drop off. You have to believe the sign and stop before you reach the edge. It only works if you trust the sign.
God’s word is filled with so many warnings. They are often about things we know nothing about until we are too far over the edge. People ignore the warnings at their own peril, but largely people have decided that the warnings are a joke instead of life giving love. It matters if you trust the sign maker because if you do, then you behavior must change.