Mike Edmisten

We bought the wrong Listerine recently. Earth shaking news, isn't it?

I'm kind of known for strong stances when it comes to what I like and what I don't. If I like something, then I usually REALLY like it. And if I don't like something, I probably REALLY don't like it. My family believes that there is no middle ground with me. And I think they're DEAD WRONG!!!!! :o)

Anyway, back to the wrong mouthwash. I use Cool Mint Listerine. Nothing else will do. Period.

So recently, my wife picked up a bottle of Arctic Mint Listerine. An understandable mistake, considering the similarity of the names. And considering that they're both blue.

She didn't notice the difference. Neither did I, until I used it for the first time.

UGH!!!

If by "Arctic Mint," they mean that "this stuff tastes like polar bear urine," then I agree with them. It was terrible! The appearance of the bottle was nearly indistinguishable from our usual mouthwash, but the taste was "polar" opposite.

Taste seems to be the most discriminating of all our senses. Maybe that's because we are tasting something that we have put inside our bodies. Sight, sound, smell, and touch are all external senses. They all involve things outside our bodies. But to taste something, you've got to put it inside you.

Maybe this is why the Bible tells us to, "Taste and see that the LORD is good…" (Psalm 34:8a, NIV)

It means that we internalize God in our lives. It's very easy to keep God on the outside.

You can sit back and watch God. Tons of people do that every week when they act as nothing more than spectators in their church.

You can listen to God. Lots of people listen to songs and sermons about God.

It's very easy to go through all the motions, but never internalize the truth. Never let God change you from the inside out. Never let your external religion transform into a life-changing relationship. Never taste and see that God is really, truly good.

The two bottles of mouthwash looked nearly identical. The difference was on the inside. And I never recognized the difference until I tasted it.

Taste and see…

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 at 2:58 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.