Tastes Like A Mint, Works Like A Miracle

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y grandfather loved to eat!  He had this wonderful ritual he followed religiously. After eating, he would take an antacid tablet in the event that an unexpected case of heartburn was looming on the horizon.  On more than one occasion, I have heard him say that antacids “taste like a mint and work like a miracle.”  I can still see him digging into his pocket for one of those tablets.  He carried them with him all the time and no matter where we ate, he always had one ready to go.

This trend continued at home.  Beside his chair, he kept a bottle of antacid tablets and I’ve seen him go to that bottle on more than one occasion and pop one in his mouth.  He would do this even though he hadn’t eaten anything that would cause heartburn.  It had just become a habit.  There seemed to be security in those antacids and as long as he took them, he was convinced he could keep heartburn and indigestion at bay.

The antacids, however, weren’t a cure for heartburn.  Grandpa knew that certain kinds of foods were certain to give him a case of indigestion.  Yet, because of his love for food, he would eat them anyway and the end result was a case of heartburn and the downing of several antacid tablets.  It didn’t matter how good they tasted or how well they worked at the time, the fact was those tablets could only mask the symptoms of heartburn and give temporary relief.  The indigestion would return at some point in the future, despite the “mint and the miracle” of those antacids.

Unfortunately, we take the same tact when it comes to day-to-day living.  There are things we should not do, places we should not go, things we should not say, and situations we should avoid.  However, we barrel ahead, full force, and the end result is a case of spiritual heartburn.  To remedy this, we say a quick prayer to soothe our conscience and then we go about our business.

But let’s stop and think about that for just one minute.  Dropping to our knees for a quick five-second prayer is the equivalent of taking an antacid tablet.  The symptoms may be temporarily relieved, but unless we avoid the situation, we will find ourselves in the very same predicament again, and sooner than we expected.  The Scripture is very clear about sin and its effect on the human heart.  Sin always results in “heartburn” and puts a wall of separation between us and God.

In Romans 6:23, Paul makes this definitive statement about sin, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^] Christ Jesus our Lord.”  In other words, sin is to be avoided at all costs!  Dabbling in it, toying with it, and playing all around it will have an effect on us and that effect is spiritual death! 

Unfortunately, we don’t’ take Paul very seriously here.  We go about our lives venturing into areas we shouldn’t.  All the while, in the back of our minds, we are convinced that we can just say a prayer and all will be forgiven and we can move on with our lives.  We intend to ask for forgiveness but we don’t intend to change the way we live!  This is where we are sadly mistaken and this is why we keep getting spiritual indigestion.  Paul never says, “Say a prayer for good measure!”  What he is saying is, “Avoid sin all together!” If you know that spicy food gives you a bad case of indigestion, avoid it!  Sin is the same way.  The only difference is that sin will cause us discomfort every time—guaranteed!

Today, are you operating with the mindset that whatever you do is ok with God?  Are you comfortable with the idea that you can just say a quick prayer and everything will be ok?  There is a great deal of truth in my grandfather’s statement.  Although they tasted like mints, the antacids weren’t mints; and although they worked like miracles, they weren’t miracles.  Prayer was never meant as a stop-gap measure.  It was meant for direct and open communication with our Heavenly Father.

What is on your spiritual plate today?  Is there something there that will bring on a case of spiritual heartburn?