5 Second Rule

      I Had been at my best friends father’s funeral, and it had been a very long day…and I was starving.  On my way home I spotted a Burger King.  Now I LOVE onion rings and then the sauce they give you….is just sweet nectar.  So I wait patiently for them and finally my food is given to me.  As I pull out and begin driving down the road I start to get my food out of the bag.  Chicken sandwich; check,  Onion rings; check.  Where is my sauce; check.  So, I situate my onion rings between my knees and go to open the sauce…while I am driving.  I go around a curb….and down to the floor went every single onion ring in the container.  I think  at this point all of Valpo heard me yell….NOOOOOO!  I quickly pull into a parking lot and in a second, determine that I am going to eat them anyway. (yes, I hear your groans)  So I pick them up and quickly examine them and put them back into the container.    Of course the 5 second rule comes to mind….but it had been more than 5 seconds.  Only one I didn’t eat because it had a hair on it – LOL. I would like it noted that I had just vacuumed the floor of my car.  LOL

     Now how many of you know that the Lord does have a sense of humor??  I definitely do....so while I am eating these is when the Lord decides in His humor to download a message to my mind.  Now there are all kinds of thoughts and studies on the 5 second rule.  At this moment I don’t want to be thinking about them.  My oldest daughter however, who is a champion Science fair competitor, would probably have a hay day with such a thing…but I want to put it completely out of my mind. Although I try, I know that I can’t, because in reality we all know if we are honest, the type of junk that could be on our food when we drop it. 

     Jillian Clarke of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign found in a survey that 56% of the men and 70% of the women surveyed were familiar with the five-second rule.  Clarke, who was the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her study on this topic, found that foods dropped for only 5 seconds onto floor surfaces became contaminated with various bacteria, E.Coli, and salmonella . (sigh)
So lets be real, the 5 second rule is for those in denial….just like I wanted to be in that moment.  I am glad I am still here to talk about it ;)

     So if we are honest, what kind of effect can the 5 second rule have on us if we used it in every aspect of our lives….lets think…could it effect you?????  and how so????

5 seconds of food in manure

5 seconds of being tazed

5 seconds of looking at your phone while driving

5 seconds of your favorite show (are you hooked)

5 seconds of Facebook

5 seconds of a song

5 seconds of kissing

5 seconds left on the clock in a game

5 sec of looking in the mirror

5 seconds of porn

5 seconds of cussing

5 sec. of smoking

5 sec of bullying

5 seconds of cheating

5 seconds of negative talk

So can 5 seconds affect your life?  If you talk to a prisoner who has spent time in prison, they will tell you that whatever they are in for was not something they planned for their life.  They may also tell you that it started with something (5 seconds???)….stealing, cheating, pornography, drugs etc…..

Garbage In = Garbage Out

Philippians 4:8, NIV
 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

What we put into our heads totally impacts what how we think, how we act, how we treat others, and how we speak. God tells us in the Bible verse above to control what we put into our heads. Do you have problems with having bad thoughts? Problems with your language? We all can. We need to take a hard look at what we’re feeding our minds with movies, video games, magazines, music, etc. There is a lot of way violent games, way obscene movies, and other things that we can easily get hooked on. Make an effort to avoid these things, and to put good things in your head. You’ll become a better person.

The world tempts us with all sorts of garbage to put into our minds but God doesn’t want us to fall into its trap.

Romans 12:2 

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So how can 5 seconds make a difference?

Romans 8:5-6
“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.

What can we do with 5 seconds to make a difference?

1.     Listen to someone

2.       Smile at someone

3.       Tell someone you love them

4.       Take a deep breath before speaking

5.       Walk another direction

6.       Pay a compliment to squash a negative.

7.       Return your cart

8.       Let someone go ahead of you in line or traffic

9.       Replace the toilet paper roll

10.   Hug someone

     You might think its tough to control what we put in our heads, what we think, and what we do. Well you’re right, its tough to the extreme! And without God it would be impossible. If we accept Jesus as our savior the Holy Spirit will come into our life and give us the power we need.