Fire!

One of the things that we are required to do in the church is a fire risk assessment. This involves evaluating fire hazards, evaluating those at risk, seeing whether it is possible to reduce the risk of fire and try to reduce the danger that that fire is likely to cause to people.

For a fire to start you need to have (1) a source of ignition, (2) fuel and (3) oxygen. So not keeping the petrol lawn mower next to the gas oven is a good idea. (Not that we did!)

I wonder how many of us would benefit from conducting a spiritual fire risk assessment?

We know that we do things that let God down, and sometimes it seems that we keep on doing them. But do they just happen, or do they happen because a number of factors come together at the same time?

Let's suppose that (a) there is a certain person in the church who regularly annoys me; (b) I lose my temper easier when I'm tired; and (c) I find it easier to 'say' things I later regret when I use email.

If all these three things were true then it would not be wise to come home after church, having been annoyed (again) by 'that person', to stew on it all day, and then at midnight, when I'm tired, to fire off an angry email (lots of capital letters), highlighting all their failings and wondering how on earth they can think of themselves as a Christian.

Assess the risk and then take steps to minimise the damage.