BULLET IN MY POCKET

Do you remember Barney Fife? He was the goofy, clumbsy Deputy in the Andy Griffith Show. Barney carried a gun, an old revolver. But it was never loaded. Barney was banned from carrying a loaded gun because he kept shooting it off accidently. So he kept one bullet, in his pocket. To put it inside of his gun, he had to get permission from Sheriff Taylor.

I just thought this was hilarious - a deputy sheriff who keeps one bullet in his pocket. So, I thought I'd blog out it.

But I feel like I'm in the "Spiritual Application" mood as of late. So, here goes nothing:

Until recently, the ministers at our church (including myself) have avoided risk taking. We have all had to pull back on the reigns of ministry because something we do might bomb. "We have to be careful what we do," we were told. Unless something was a sure thing, then we had better not chance it. Ministry was essentially the bullet in our pockets. We had to be careful when and were we employed it, and even then, we had very little clout when we did.

But this has recently changed. The source of the "we have to be careful" is no longer with us and now we are jumping at every chance for ministry and community outreach, despite the risks to money and time involved. And it's not just the ministers, but the vast majority of the church. People want to show the love of Jesus to others. And it's very refreshing to see that. We no longer have to get be careful about the bullet in our pockets. We are now encouraged to take risks. We are now told that without great risks, great things can't be accomplished. Also, by taking risks in ministry, we are really showing that we are putting our trust in God and not in ourselves.

So, there you have it: The Andy Griffith Show tied to a spiritual theme. We shouldn't allow ourselves to have a bullet in our pocket for only extreme situations. We should be 'fully loaded.'