Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
July 25, 2012

“Holy Hotfoot!!”
“Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?” – Proverbs 6:28

Tony Robbins is a motivational speaker and has authored several books. Last week Robbins was hosting a 4-day gathering called “Unleash the Power Within” at the San Jose Convention Center. Witnesses say on Thursday, a crowd went to a park where 12 lanes of hot coals were on the grass. Robbins’ website promotes “The Firewalk Experience” in which people walk on super-heated coals. According to Robbins, this helps to inspire and encourage people to overcome their fear and achieve greater rewards. However, last week California Fire officials say at least 21 people were treated for burns after attendees of the firewalk experience were burned. Witness Jonathan Correll says he heard “screams of agony.” Fire Capt. Reggie Williams says organizers had an open fire permit and emergency personnel were on standby.
Walking on fire has existed for several thousand years, with records dating back to 1200 B.C. Cultures across the globe, from Greece to China, used firewalking for rites of healing, initiation, and faith. Firewalking became popular in America during the 1970s when author Tolly Burkan began a campaign to demystify the practice. He offered evening firewalking courses that were open to anyone in the general public. The demand for firewalking classes became so great that in 1984 Burkan began training instructors. Recently, in the United States, firewalking is used by businesses to build teamwork and as a so-called alternative health remedy.
Who in the world thought that walking on hot coals was (or is) a “good idea?” In fact, as I was reading the article I listed above the author went on to describe the “Risks when doing firewalking improperly?” You mean to tell me there are risks? I have a hard time believing that!

· People have burned their feet when they remained in the fire for too long, enabling the thermal conductivity of the coals to catch up.
· One is more likely to be burned when running through the coals since running pushes one's feet deeper into the embers, resulting in the top of the feet being burnt. · Foreign objects in the coals may result in burns. Metal is especially dangerous since it has a high thermal conductivity.
· Coals which have not burned long enough can burn feet more quickly. Coals contain water, which increases their heat capacity as well as their thermal conductivity. The water must be evaporated already when the firewalk starts.
· Wet feet can cause coals to cling to them, increasing the exposure time.

Therefore, even if firewalking is explained with simple physics, there are still hazards. (Ya think?)
Is there something in the human psyche that believes one can do practically anything to their body without there being some repercussions? I’m inclined to think so after reading the previous paragraphs and also seeing what human beings do to themselves and to each other on a daily basis. My father served in the Air Force for 20 years. He probably would have stayed in longer had it not been for his health—the fact was, he had cancer. Lung cancer to be more specific. My mother found this out after my father had died that when the military doctors had diagnosed my father (9 years before) he had been told that if he had quit smoking when he was told he would add several years to his life. He did not heed their advice and died at the age of 51. I was eight years old at the time and would live the rest of my childhood without a father, and my mother without a husband. I think it would be safe to say my father was walking on “hot coals” at that point.
I want to be careful here by saying that I am not picking exclusively on smokers. The point of Solomon’s message had nothing to do with the dangers of smoking, and yet it has everything to do with it. And one does not need to stop there to know there are a number of issues we can add to this spiritual bed of hot coals. Drug addicts are in the same category. Those who are sexually promiscuous also fall into this category. Those who steal...lie…so on and so forth!
My point is that as ludicrous as walking on hot coals appears to be—millions do the same with other areas of their lives on a daily basis! They do this believing they can act in a way without getting hurt—or hurting others.
In our “walk of life,” there will come a point and a place where a bed of hot coals could be placed in front of us. The issue is do we attempt to walk across them thinking we will not get burned, or do we walk around them knowing we will not get burned! The decision is ours to make. Where are you walking right now?
Posted to Religious by Quentin Clingerman @ 7:57 am EDT