PHYSICAL REACTION

Today started off like any other.  I arrived at work at the appropriate time, clocked in, and started my preparations for heading down to Camp Atterbury.  For those of you who are unaware, Southport Road Chick-fil-A has a trailer that we keep on post (my understanding is that "on post" is the correct way to say it).  We prepare food at the store, load it up in warmers and coolers, and bring it down to Atterbury to sell to the soldiers.  This has been my routine now for the last couple of months.  Other than determining the number of sandwiches to bring, nothing really changes.  Everything usually goes as planned and rarely do we deviate from that plan.

That was the way it happened today...until we arrived at the trailer.  Waiting by the door of the trailer was the Health Inspector.  Now...let me say that I have worked for Chick-fil-A for over two years and I know the quality and care we put into our restaurant and our food.  We are meticulous when it comes to the standards set by the Board of Health.  There was absolutely NOTHING that I was worried about as far as the Health Inspector was concerned.

Yet, I found myself anxious and fearful because of the authority this man holds.  It was the same feeling you get when you drive past a police officer.  It does not matter whether you are speeding or driving under the speed limit.  When you see a police officer...you inevitably hit the brakes--it is unavoidable.  Sometimes we are even tricked to hit the brakes when we see a mall cop.  Our bodies have a physical reaction when it comes to the authority these people have in our lives.

And that got me thinking...do we give God the respect and authority He deserves?  Do we have a good "fear" of the Lord with the authority He has over our lives?  I'm not talking about a "scared" fear, but a fear of awe and respect.  God has so much more authority than these others that I have talked about.  Yet, how often to we acknowledge that authority.  We freak out when we see a police officer when we are speeding; do we freak out when we are sinning?  We may not see God, but He surely sees us.  And that should cause us to have some kind of a physical reaction.