Put Your Mask On First

I have friends who have over a million miles on a single airline. That’s a lot of flying. I think if God had intended us to fly that much, he would have given us wings. If that’s what a frequent flyer is then I don’t come close, but I have flown enough to pretty much memorize the pre-flight instructions. You probably have too. I think the seat cushions being floatation devices are probably the least useful. If I’m hitting a body of water at 600 mph, I doubt if the seat cushion will be much help, no matter how buoyant it is. But the instructions about the oxygen masks always strikes me as important.  The flight attendant always reminds us to put our oxygen mask on first before we try to help someone else with their mask. It’s an announcement that seems intended for parents of smaller children. I get it. My impulse would be to make sure I got their mask on them before I paid attention to my own. The problem, of course, is if you aren’t getting oxygen, you might keel over before you finish helping them with theirs. That got me thinking about being a grandfather. I find myself praying a lot for my grandkids. It’s going to get harder to be a follower of Christ. I want to do everything I can to help them. The thing I’ve realized is that I worry more about how they are doing spiritually than I do about myself. I want to make sure I have my mask on before I help them with theirs. There are plenty of stories of older Christians who don’t finish well. I want to finish well. If I make sure I have my mask on then who knows, I may be able to grab my seat as a floatation device after all.

Pastor Joe