Balancing Coffee Cup

 

In 2007 Kathy and I visited Cancun, Mexico and Brother Greg Smith.  He has two churches that he had started before Cancun became a resort destination.  I preached in both churches and had a great time.  One day we traveled to Chichén Itzá in central Yucatán Peninsula to visit the Mayan ruins.  We rode a nice, air-conditioned tour bus and stopped for breakfast on the way.  When I got back on the bus, the driver smiled and said, “Oh, you’d better not bring that cup of coffee on the bus.  The roads are bumpy, and the coffee will be all over your clothes.”  He was right, the asphalt roads had huge ruts from the heavy buses.  But my dad had taught me an old truck driver trick.  So I said to the bus driver, “I like the coffee, and I’ll be all right.”  The driver shrugged and let it go.  The tour guide rounded up everyone, got back on the bus, and sat down behind the bus driver.  The driver said something to him in Spanish and they both smiled and looked at me.  I continued to sip my coffee.  The bus pulled out onto the road and we were off.  I scanned the road ahead looking for greasy spots on the pavement, a sure sign that there was a bump ahead.  When trucks bounce on a bump in the road, a little oil shakes off the engine, and over the months a greasy spot grows on the road.  Where you see a greasy spot, there is a bump just before it.  When I saw a spot in the road, I would hold my Styrofoam cup out and let my extended arm act as a shock absorber and the coffee never spilled a drop.  After my coffee survived the first bump, the driver and tour guide were surprised and watched me more closely.  But after I several bumps, they thought that I was clairvoyant.  The amazed tour guide asked, “Señor, how do you know when a bump is coming in the road?!”  When I explained the truck driver trick, he was pleased and replied, “Amazing!  I never knew that!”  Hey, there are wise tricks that you can learn, and there are spiritual insights that you can learn as well.  Solomon said in Proverbs 13:16, “Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.”  Learn in your life … and learn in your spiritual life.  Become wise in the world … and become wise in God’s Word.