Tires and Underwear

I bought a new tire today.

Exciting, huh?

Somewhere in my dim past one of the tires on my Saturn S1 Coupe (picture an enclosed skate board with a motor) developed a bump. So I replaced that. Now, the other tire needed replacing.

 Badly.

It was so bald I could see my reflection in it. Being nervous about a flat tire and having to ride around on one of those embarassing "donut" spares for two days, I had it changed.

The thing about buying tires, it isn't very exciting. It's like buying underwear. No matter how colorful it is in the package, nobody's going to see it.

So, why do we replace underwear and tires? Because it feels good.

It feels good to know your tire is thicker than bubble gum and won't blow on the first sharp stone in an intersection.

It feels good to have underwear that doesn't....well, never mind!

Doing the right thing is kind of like that.

Recently my Dad bought us a deck. Unexpectedly. He just said, "I'm going to buy you a deck. Get an estimate for me." We were thrilled! Because I never thought we would be able to afford a deck. The ancient concrete patio, which unfortunately now slanted a bit toward the river, would have to be enough. But now we were getting a deck!

So I found a contractor and had a deck built. It's great!

After the deck was completed, my Dad asked about the building permit.

Building permit?  You need building permits for decks?

So I got ahold of  the contractor who built the deck for us. He said, "I never heard of anybody getting a building permit for a deck in Wabash County."

But it's the law, see.

And with my tender, hypersensitive conscience that's just this side of paranoid, I couldn't rest with that. I asked the contractor to get a permit and I would pay for it. He said it would  be about $25. Hmm. Not too bad for honesty and a clear conscience.

Which brings me to my point. As Christians, we try to do the right thing. It isn't very exciting. Nobody's going to see. It doesn't attract attention--except the unwanted kind: "You're worrying about that?"

We do it for the same reason we buy new tires and underwear.

Because, in the end, it feels good.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?" (Matthew 5:13)


Do the right thing. In the end you'll be glad you did.