Infectious Bibles
For the word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
A small community in Alleghany County, VA has had a ruckus of their own going on. Lewis Gale hospital system removed all the Bibles from hospital rooms saying they can carry infectious diseases.
Me oh my. I'd like to think that Scripture is contagious.
A pastor from the tiny town of Iron Gate, wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper and the hospital has been scurrying to clear up any misunderstanding. They have moved the Bibles to the nurses stations and a patient can ask for one and then take it home. They have even added that they will place a laminate card (which can be cleaned and not spread germs) relaying this information in the drawer where Bibles previously were located. My guess is this infectious angle will fuel the fight to remove Bibles from any public place as well, making the association that they paper pages are germ carriers.
I tell you friends, this world is not our own…we are foreigners here and it is getting stranger every day. I'm curious if every type of "paper" material has been removed from the lobbies and waiting rooms of hospitals and doctors offices as well. Better just do away with magazines. I'm guilty of picking one up in a grocery store line and then placing it back in the rack. If probably done that at some point in my life on a day I had a cold. I guess they all must go and we can just plug into our Smartphones and iPads while we wait.
Phone books, magazines, hotel directories, and hotel note pads would be in this same category. Do they put a new roll of toilet paper in every hotel room? Is every towel removed, even if it appears to not have been used. Do they Lysol the chair cushions and wash every bedspread? What about the curtains? I think my husband sneezed near one last weekend on our trip.
The Bible is infectious. The love and guidance inside can spread quickly! May It forever be a contagious document.
Praise God for the man in Iron Gate, VA who stood up to protect the ministry of the Gideons and God's Word.
