I have known for some time now that common sense is no longer common, but this Labor Day I witnessed the extreme example of that. I can’t go into detail because it might still end up in litigation, but it was an act that was unnecessary, shocking and totally unexpected behavior for anyone over the age of five. It was also illegal. I’m still asking myself why any adult human being would ever think that act was acceptable. I should not be surprised. Ridiculous warning labels are printed because someone lacked common sense. The first automobile owner manuals told you how to adjust the timing belt. Today, they warn you not to drink the content of the battery. Somehow the term battery acid never made me thirsty.
What is common sense? One definition is to know the difference between reality and fantasy. I grew up watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. Tom and Jerry; Road Runner and Wiley Coyote; Popeye and Bluto; Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd; and Daffy Duck to name a few; all of them were full of violence, but I never once thought of dropping an anvil on someone’s head or strapping myself to a sky rocket. We never needed the warning, “Don’t try this at home, kids.” We knew cartoon violence was not real. I also knew the difference between a cap pistol and a real gun. Although they appeared more real, I quickly learned movies were not real. When the director would shout cut all of the dead actors would come back to life. So I knew like the blanks used in movie guns, my cap gun would harm no one.
Another definition of common sense is the ability to visualize the results of an action before you do it. My first experience with this at a young age involved knowing my parents’ negative reaction to certain actions and refraining from those actions, It was the way they taught me the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
Where am I going with all of this? Christians should be able to look at the world around us and determine reality from fantasy. We do that by comparing everything with the truth of God’s word and prompting of the Holy Spirit. The more we pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and study the Bible, we learn how God reacts to certain behavior and we learn the boundaries He has set for us as a loving Father should. You will find God’s warning labels throughout scripture, but most of them cause our spirit to shout, “I know that!”