August 28, 1998

BEING WRONG

Adam Thompson of Cincinnati, Ohio, was the first American to fill a bathtub. Doctors who heard of it predicted rheumatism and inflammation of the lungs. Some cities banned the new 'bathtub exercise'. Today a home is not complete without a bathtub or shower. The crowd was wrong. England once had a law forbidding anyone to drive a vehicle faster than four miles an hour without a person going before them with a red flag. Today we have vehicles capable of more than one hundred times that speed. The crowd was wrong.

Musicians and critics groaned and laughed at the music of Richard Wagner. But his compositions transformed the music world. The crowd was wrong. Westinghouse was called a fool for daring to think that he could stop a train with wind. Now Westinghouse air brakes are being used the world over. Again the crowd was wrong.

"What is radium?" the crowd jeered at Madame Curie. Today it is a valuable asset in fighting disease. The crowd was wrong. For eleven years Goodyear and his wife worked on vulcanising rubber. Everyone laughed at them, but today millions ride on Goodyear tyres. The crowd was mistaken.

There have been advances in medical science hailed at the time, but were later proved to be disastrous. The drug Thalidomide comes to mind. In the early 1950's the world hailed the first jet airliner, the 'Comet', which cut travelling time by half. Several crashed and many were killed. The designers were wrong about the effect that speed and altitude had on aircraft construction. They learned from that mistake and today air travel is even safer than driving the car. Publishers told Zane Grey that he had no writing ability. But his books are still being read. The crowd was wrong.

Being wrong can be a serious matter, and that applies particularly to our relationship with God. Too much is at stake. We can be wrong about many things. The world can be wrong about things - it has been through the ages. However, we dare not be wrong about Jesus. God offers us eternal life through Jesus Christ. He so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. is free.