Warning Labels -- FPC sermon excerpt
A New Hampshire teenager was making some moves on the basketball court, and decided to drive hard and go for a dunk. As he flew through the air, he caught two of his teeth on the basketball net.
Ouch. You know that’s got to hurt.
The kid was no LeBron James, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make money from basketball. In fact, the young man sued the company that made the basketball net, claiming they should pay for his dental work.
They settled out of court for $50,000.
You might call this lawsuit frivolous, but it is part of a disturbing trend. People are suing companies for everything these days, from defective toilet seats to hard-to-open pickle jars, and the cost of doing business is skyrocketing.
Today, companies are responding to the threat of lawsuits by slapping common-sense warnings on their products. These messages seem like no-brainers … but you can’t be too careful. You might say that frivolous lawsuits have given birth to a new cultural phenomenon: The wacky warning label.
For example:
- A label on a baby stroller warns: “Remove child before folding.”
- A cartridge for a laser printer says: “Do not eat toner.”
- A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns: “Not intended for highway use.”
- A dishwasher carries this warning: “Do not allow children to play in the dishwasher.”
- A box of birthday candles says: “DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs.”
Today is my son Sam’s birthday. I guess when he blows out his candles, we’ll have to warn him not to stick them in his ears.
The fifth chapter of Isaiah begins with a warning label, but there is nothing wacky about it. It is a warning in the form of a love-song, sung by the prophet Isaiah — a song that tells of God and his vineyard. “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill,” sings Isaiah. “He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines.” God built a watchtower in it, and hewed out a wine vat. God “expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes” — grapes that are best described as “rotten grapes” or “stinking grapes” (Isaiah 5:1-2). The Lord did everything he could to prepare the vineyard for a crop of good grapes, but it produced only bad fruit (NIV).
God is unhappy with this outcome, so he brings a legal case to the people of Judah. “Judge between me and my vineyard,” says God. “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?” (vv. 3-4).
The Lord followed all the proper procedures, but still he got bad fruit. So he asks the people of Judah to settle the case and determine who is to blame. Are the wild grapes the fault of God, or the fault of the vineyard? Are they the fault of the manufacturer, or the fault of the customer?
- Well, if a child plays in a dishwasher, we have to blame the customer, not the dishwasher-maker.
- If a man gets a birthday candle stuck in his ear, we have to blame the man, not the candle company.
- If a woman steps on a 12-inch rack for compact disks and falls, we have to blame her for not obeying the warning label that was placed on the CD rack: “Do not use as a ladder.”
In the case of the bad fruit in Isaiah, the same is true: The fault lies with the vineyard.
God is fed up with the wild grapes that have taken over his vineyard, so he issues this warning: “I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge … break down its wall …. make it a waste … [and] also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it” (vv. 5-6).
This warning label couldn’t be any clearer: Producing bad fruit can result in injury, dismemberment or death. Wild grapes will be trampled down, returned to dust. God is issuing a caution that is as obvious as the sticker that has been placed on a popular manufactured fireplace log: “Caution — Risk of Fire.”
By now, you’ve probably figured out that this passage has nothing to do with vineyards, and everything to do with the behavior of the people of Israel. “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,” concludes Isaiah, “and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!” (v. 7). Although the people of Israel and Judah were planted and watered properly, they turned into bad fruit. Instead of practicing justice and righteousness, they fell into violence and dishonesty. Instead of growing into the good people God intended them to be, they turned into wild and unruly creatures.
Ouch. You know that’s got to hurt.
The kid was no LeBron James, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make money from basketball. In fact, the young man sued the company that made the basketball net, claiming they should pay for his dental work.
They settled out of court for $50,000.
You might call this lawsuit frivolous, but it is part of a disturbing trend. People are suing companies for everything these days, from defective toilet seats to hard-to-open pickle jars, and the cost of doing business is skyrocketing.
Today, companies are responding to the threat of lawsuits by slapping common-sense warnings on their products. These messages seem like no-brainers … but you can’t be too careful. You might say that frivolous lawsuits have given birth to a new cultural phenomenon: The wacky warning label.
For example:
- A label on a baby stroller warns: “Remove child before folding.”
- A cartridge for a laser printer says: “Do not eat toner.”
- A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns: “Not intended for highway use.”
- A dishwasher carries this warning: “Do not allow children to play in the dishwasher.”
- A box of birthday candles says: “DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs.”
Today is my son Sam’s birthday. I guess when he blows out his candles, we’ll have to warn him not to stick them in his ears.
The fifth chapter of Isaiah begins with a warning label, but there is nothing wacky about it. It is a warning in the form of a love-song, sung by the prophet Isaiah — a song that tells of God and his vineyard. “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill,” sings Isaiah. “He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines.” God built a watchtower in it, and hewed out a wine vat. God “expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes” — grapes that are best described as “rotten grapes” or “stinking grapes” (Isaiah 5:1-2). The Lord did everything he could to prepare the vineyard for a crop of good grapes, but it produced only bad fruit (NIV).
God is unhappy with this outcome, so he brings a legal case to the people of Judah. “Judge between me and my vineyard,” says God. “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?” (vv. 3-4).
The Lord followed all the proper procedures, but still he got bad fruit. So he asks the people of Judah to settle the case and determine who is to blame. Are the wild grapes the fault of God, or the fault of the vineyard? Are they the fault of the manufacturer, or the fault of the customer?
- Well, if a child plays in a dishwasher, we have to blame the customer, not the dishwasher-maker.
- If a man gets a birthday candle stuck in his ear, we have to blame the man, not the candle company.
- If a woman steps on a 12-inch rack for compact disks and falls, we have to blame her for not obeying the warning label that was placed on the CD rack: “Do not use as a ladder.”
In the case of the bad fruit in Isaiah, the same is true: The fault lies with the vineyard.
God is fed up with the wild grapes that have taken over his vineyard, so he issues this warning: “I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge … break down its wall …. make it a waste … [and] also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it” (vv. 5-6).
This warning label couldn’t be any clearer: Producing bad fruit can result in injury, dismemberment or death. Wild grapes will be trampled down, returned to dust. God is issuing a caution that is as obvious as the sticker that has been placed on a popular manufactured fireplace log: “Caution — Risk of Fire.”
By now, you’ve probably figured out that this passage has nothing to do with vineyards, and everything to do with the behavior of the people of Israel. “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,” concludes Isaiah, “and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!” (v. 7). Although the people of Israel and Judah were planted and watered properly, they turned into bad fruit. Instead of practicing justice and righteousness, they fell into violence and dishonesty. Instead of growing into the good people God intended them to be, they turned into wild and unruly creatures.
posted by Henry Brinton | 11:12 AM
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