I mentioned the “frog in the pot story” recently. Al Gore once told the story this way: “If a frog jumps into a pot of boiling water, it jumps right out again because it senses the danger. But if the very same frog jumps into a pot of lukewarm water that is slowly brought to a boil, it will just sit there … even as the temperature continues to go up and up. It will stay there until … until it’s rescued.”
This old illustration has become something of a cliché, popular with both pastors and politicians. Gore told an animated version of the story as a warning about global warming in his 2006 film “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.” Some may raise a skeptical eyebrow at the mention of Gore’s film. Others will argue a frog would not actually behave the way the illustration suggests.
These comments miss the point of the classic analogy: sometimes people can fail to recognize hazards to which they have become accustomed.
As Christians, we can adapt to the world around us, failing to recognize the risks posed by behaviors our grandparents would have found horrifying. Consider movies, lyrics, and online gaming. Have we not gotten used to portrayals of sex and violence that would shock our ancestors? Can you see the way we are like the frog—sitting comfortably while everything heats up around us?
God expects us to notice sin—and to care. In Ezekiel 9, he sent seven men among His idol-worshipping people, six with war clubs and one with writing tools. First the writer was to walk among the people, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over the detestable practices committed in Jerusalem” Ezekiel 9:4. Next the executioners with clubs were to “pass through the city … and start killing. Do not show pity or spare them! Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the older women and little children, but do not come near anyone who has the mark” Ezekiel 9:5-6.
Who would be saved? Those who “sigh and groan over the detestable practices.” Have you ever sighed over the evil our world considers entertainment? Have you ever groaned over the sins around you? Have you ever felt the deep grief of knowing a close friend was heading deeper into sin and you could do nothing to stop it? Do you care, or has your heart become hardened?
God wants us to feel grief over sin, not only ours, but that of those around us. As Isaiah said, “I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips” Isaiah 6:5. We should care about the people around us. We are part of this city and nation—their lives affect us just as ours affect them. But if your heart has grown callused—if you feel untouched by the evil around you—God can renew your heart, as we will discuss in PART TWO.
God, help us to hate evil. “Hate evil, you who love the Lord” Psalm 97:10.
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Household Words: 