Afflicting the Comfortable

Do you remember the fairy tale from Hans Christian Andersen called the “Princess and the Pea”? If not here is a quick synopsis. The story tells of a prince who is looking for a princess to marry, but has been unsatisfied by all the princesses he has met so far. Then one day a princess arrives at his castle seeking shelter from a storm. She says that she is a princess, but no one believes her. The prince's mother decides to test her by placing a pea in the bed she is offered for the night. With 20 mattresses laid upon a pea and twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses the princess wakes up in the morning complaining about a sleepless night and a bruise to her back. The prince realizes the women truly is a princess and marries her.

Although this story is often used as a tale about not judging a book by its cover, to me it speaks of something more worrisome. It speaks of the level of comfort that a princess expects to have in order to sleep comfortably. According to this tale the only way someone of high status can enjoy their sleep is if all inconveniences were removed. How did this happen? What led someone to needs such comfort in order to sleep?

Let’s ask ourselves a similar question. How much comfort do I expect in my daily life? How upset do I get at even the slightest inconveniences? So many people struggle in the world today and I don’t think it is going to change until we start afflicting the comfortable. That means you and me. I believe many of us have become so comfortable that we are out of touch with the truly afflicted. This Sunday we will be discussing “Comforting the Afflicted” and how begins with afflicting the comfortable. Join us for worship at 8:30 or 10:45 AM as we continue this discussion.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church