Death By Water

I read the strangest and saddest story this morning. Somewhere in CA, a young mother of several kids was found dead at home. She was not sick, and was not murdered. The cause of death: WATER INTOXICATION.

Thinking this to be a joke, I looked it up, and this is real….although very rare. What happens is that your body’s normal level of electrolytes is pushed outside of safe limits from a rapid intake of too much water. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, the electrolyte levels can become potentially dangerous.

The young lady had partaken earlier that day in a local radio contest to win a Nintendo Wii. The person who could drink the most water without using the restroom won the system. She was playing to win the system for her kids.

What a sad and senseless tragedy! No one involved meant harm. No one was trying to put anyone at risk. I would imagine, no one even knew that there was the potential for such loss. After all…it was water…the “healthy drink”! Yet…someone still lost a life.

Kinda’ scary, is it not? Without meaning too, this person put her life in danger, and ultimately paid the cost.

I wonder how many times I have done the same thing? True, I may not being addicted to drugs, or living in crime, but am I guilty of participating in things that put my life and more so, my soul in danger? Do I dabble in little “minor sins” but consider them “safe” enough not to worry? When, in reality, I am endangering myself daily…and setting myself up for death!

The truth is, God does not classify sins on a danger level. There are no classes and subclasses. Every Christian flirts with disaster daily! Because we forget that god DID give us clear directives. He set a standard that we often fail to remember.

In Ephesians we are told to “be imitators of God”, and to live lives with “NOT EVEN A HINT” OF IMPURITY.

I know that I do not even come close to that standard, and as such, I daily place myself in grave danger. I am not a pessimist. I am not a bad news harbinger. I am not a fire and brimstone preacher. But I am real. God called us to live in certain ways, and by choosing to ignore this, I can put myself more in harm’s way.

Watch out…….stand on guard. Follow God’s way….and be careful. If you choose to partake of too much water, may it be LIVING WATER of salvation!