The older I get the more I am convinced that “common sense” will soon go the way of the dinosaur — extinction. And, what’s more, it will be sooner than later.
Just what is common sense? A Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition defines common sense this way: “the ability to think and behave in a reasonable way and to make good decisions.”
Last week I was driving on Interstate 40 near downtown Nashville. I passed one of the signs that are prevalent today on the major roads. Normally the signs warn of traffic delays or ask for help in locating cars suspected of transporting children who may have been kidnapped.
On this particular day the message on this sign just made me shake my head. To paraphrase, it was basically reminding people not to leave their children unattended in a locked car.
Really, do we have to tell people something that is so basic? Unfortunately, we do. How many times this summer have we heard about the tragic death of a child because a parent or someone who was supposed to be watching the child did just that? Common sense would dictate that one would never leave a child in a car, locked or unlocked, regardless of the weather conditions.
One more case in point. Many people may have heard about the woman in Salt Lake City, Utah, who drank tea that had been inadvertently laced with lye in a local restaurant. What many people may not know is that the woman is Jan Harding whose husband, Jim, is a long time pastor and former executive director of the Utah/Idaho Southern Baptist Convention. She went through nearly two weeks of unimaginable pain and trauma because no one exercised a little common sense.
According to a Baptist Press report on Aug. 22, restaurant officials knew about the contaminated sugar. In fact one employee had a hole burned in her tongue because of it. Instead of destroying it, the container sat in a manager’s office for about five weeks before someone apparently used the mixture thinking it was pure sugar.
What a senseless tragedy. If some common sense had been used in the first place, sugar would never have come into contact with a cleaning solution that contained lye. Then, if someone had used some common sense when it was discovered, Mrs. Harding would not have spent nearly 13 days in a hospital with life-threatening acid burns. We can only praise God that He answered countless prayers for this faithful servant and that she has recovered enough to go home.
It all boils down to a lack of common sense which leads to bad consequences.
At some point very soon, common sense must make a comeback in society before it is lost for good.
