Creaks And Warnings

The floors in my house creak.
Not all the floors in my house, just some of them.
There is one place in particular that comes to mind.
One place in particular that has the loudest creak.

The loudest creak comes from a floorboard in the room that belonged to my sons.
As soon as you enter the room, the floor creaks quite loudly.
I used to appreciate the sound when the boys were at home.
I always knew when they got up each morning.

I feel as if I should have a sign on the door of that room.
Beware! Floorboard creaks loudly!
I got over my embarrassment long ago.
When we get new rugs, I will screw the sub-floor down tightly, my husband promised.

It used to bother me until I went to an estate home that is now a museum.
I went to see the lovely home with three of my dear friends.
As we walked through the rooms, admiring the beautiful antiques, the floors creaked.
As we walked the hallways going from room to room, the floorboards seem to protest.

I began to laugh and one of my friends turned and looked at me.
What’s so funny? She asked beginning to giggle herself.
Do you hear the floors creaking as we walk? She shook her head in agreement.
Here, the creak adds character to the house; at home it is just annoying.

I have said to my husband that no one could ever sneak into our house.
We would hear them in an instant.
I know every creak in every floorboard.
I know where someone is walking just by the sound of the creak.

I went to a charming bakery for tea with a friend.
I arrived first and sat on the front porch as I waited for her.
The bakery is in a historic village that looks very much like it did in the early 19th century.
It is a “company village” with a sealed iron mine and a granite quarry.

The company-built workers’ housing and the in-house shops line the street.
A main road runs down the center of the village.
The village itself is built in a boulder-strewn ravine.
The mines are sealed and the quarry is filled to one-half its depth with water.

As I sat on the bench waiting for my friend I looked across the street.
The boulders of the quarry loomed above me.
Around the perimeter of the quarry was a cyclone fence.
On the fence was a sign: Stay Out! Stay Alive!

The sign was a warning.
It was posted and couldn’t have been clearer.
However, I am sure the temptation is still there.
I imagine the dare to dive into the water at the base of the quarry is still a problem.

Stay out! Stay alive!
You have been warned.
The risks are known.
The directive has been posted.

Wouldn’t it be nice if warning signs were posted as we go about our day?
Think twice before you see that movie!
Stop before you say anything you will regret!
Caution! This is the wrong crowd!

Wouldn’t it be nice if the ground below us creaked before we sinned?
As we walk towards that which tempts us we hear a deafening creak.
Everyone around us hears it, too.
We are stopped in out tracks before things get too far.

Creaks and warnings.
Warnings that cause us to rethink what we are about to do.
Signs that give us a directive of the impending danger.
Sounds that warn us before we take another step.

Wouldn’t it be nice?

Son of Man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from Me. When I say to a wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not warn him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will be saved yourself. Again when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took the warning, and you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:17-21)

Creaks and warnings.
God’s Word warns us.
Warnings abound in Scripture concerning how we are to live.
God’s Word is a spoken Word; it creaks, it prods, it prompts, and it convicts.

We must be attuned to it in order to hear the warning.
We must turn down the din of our lives so we can hear the ever-present creak.
Like the floors in the museum, the creak of God’s Word gives us character.
It gives us His character as we live the righteous life He expects.

Be grateful for the creaks and warnings of God’s Word.
Be grateful that you can hear it.
Many cannot.
Many refuse to listen.

Do you hear it?
Be thankful that you do.
Stay out! Stay Alive!
Alive in Christ.

You have been warned.