Recently, a dear friend shared this unique story with me, and I felt compelled to share her words with others.
She began her tale with a question:
What if I told you that recently I was faced with a problem that shouldn’t have been a problem at all – at least not my problem?
It all started when I awoke from a sound sleep to the smell of smoke. After searching our house, I realized it was coming from outside. I looked out the window, and I could see smoke rising from my neighbor’s house.
My first thought was: What should I do?
After all, I didn’t actually see a flame, so I didn’t know for sure that there was a problem.
I silently wondered … What if my neighbors are sitting out on their porch smoking, or what if they decided to roast marshmallows?
Unsure of the situation, I decided to just wait a bit. So, I watched for a while, waiting for signs, hoping that everything was alright, and they were simply enjoying their marshmallows.
A battle of conflicting thoughts played out in my head as I waited and watched
Wait … was that a flicker? Then again, maybe that was the flame from their marshmallows, and maybe their house is fine. Maybe it’s really just a campfire.
Still unable to sleep, I decided to take another look. I still saw smoke – nothing more. But the battle in my mind continued to rage!
Should I call? Should I just make sure all is well?
I hated to invade their privacy. I was so torn. Was it my imagination, or was the smoke actually getting thicker and darker?
My thoughts ran rampant, but I kept trying to think logically: I’m probably just blowing this way out of proportion. I mean they are adults. They know everything I know about fire prevention. Why would they need my help?
I reasoned it all out in my head: If I call, they’re going to think I’m a busybody. I’ll be the laughingstock of our entire neighborhood. Everybody will be talking about that crazy woman up in the middle of the night spying on people and taking care of everybody’s business but her own.
But wait; there it was again. I was certain that was an ember I saw, or was it just a reflection of a light in my window?
My thoughts grew more persistent, so I tried to calm myself.
It was a reflection, I’m sure – just a reflection. If it were a real fire, they would have also smelled it and not been able to sleep through it either. Seriously, I can smell it all the way over here. And when I say “it,” I mean their campfire.
Then, I chastised myself: I should just go to bed and tend to my own business. It’ll all be over in the morning.
I kept rationalizing the whole thing and thinking it through. I reminded myself that even though my husband was sound asleep, he possessed the greatest sense of smell of anyone I’d ever known. If there was a real problem, he would have known. And our dog wasn’t even moving or barking.
I concluded that I should just mind my own business, go back to bed, and go to sleep.
As an added assurance, I thought, I’ll just check one more time and take a final, quick look.
I paused, took a deep breath, and pondered what I now saw: Oh, no. I think it really could be a fire in their attic. The smoke doesn’t seem quite as thick now, but it seems to be coming directly from the attic.
I paused again, and my thoughts ran wild – again.
Am I just imagining this? I mean … I don’t want anything to happen to them. If I knew for sure that it was a fire, of course, I would do something. I would never let someone intentionally burn.
I whispered, “I just don’t want to bother them or wake them or invade their privacy.”
After several more minutes and a lot of other crazy thoughts that ran through my mind like a bunch of wild rabbits, I realized I was being ridiculous, and I needed some sleep.
So, I concluded my internal conversation: I’m sure they have smoke alarms. Everyone does. They’re built into our home security systems. They’re even required by insurance companies. So, yes! I’m sure they have smoke alarms.
Plus, after all this time of me standing here and watching, a real fire would have spread out of control by now, enough for the whole neighborhood to see – and smell.
“I’m just going to bed and giving it to God,” I said aloud.
With the seeming conclusion of my friend’s late-night tale, she turned and asked me pointedly, “What would you have done?”
I was taken aback for a moment and did not have time to venture an answer before she laughed a bit and said, “To be honest, this exact scenario never really happened, but similar ones happen to me daily.”
I must have truly looked perplexed because my friend quickly smiled and continued: “Every day, I run across people who could be headed straight into the eternal fires of hell. And every day, I talk myself out of doing anything about it.”
She soberly asked, “Do I want them to go to hell?”
She barely paused before answering, “No, of course, I don’t. But I’m scared that I will offend people, or I will be laughed at or mocked.
“So, I say nothing, and consequently, I choose to let my neighbors, my friends, my acquaintances die without me asking where they’re headed and without doing one thing to intercede if their eternal destination is not heaven.”
With tears in her eyes, she added. “I simply tell myself that I will pray for them and give it to God – when the truth is, God is giving it to me.”
I had to agree with her on all counts. So, I joined her as we prayed for forgiveness of our fear and apathy.
Maybe you might feel led to pray with us as well:
Forgive us, heavenly Father, for falling short, for being cowards, for putting our comfort before the desperate needs of our brothers and sisters.
Please forgive us for not putting You first in all things. Help us to shine Your light into the darkness of the lives of those around us. And in doing so, may You please help us to leave no one behind.
We want to know that we did all we could to help save our neighbors from dying and spending an eternity in hell. So, help us to heed the words of Jude 1:23, which tells us to “save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”
Thank You! Amen.
As a final note to my friend’s timely tale, she stated firmly and with obvious conviction: “The next time someone crosses my path, they better tell me quickly that they already know Jesus, or they will most likely get to hear the plan of salvation.”
She added, “Because I will never smell smoke again without doing something about it!”
