Theology of the Gas Pump

Why do so many gas stations strip out that little do-hickey that will let you pump gas without having to squeeze the handle the whole time? You know, that little metal piece that you can lock down that holds the handle up. I’m sure there’s some safety reason, but I always get annoyed when I have to stand there and squeeze the handle (see I’m just another lazy American :-0).

Anyway, yesterday I was getting gas and I just automatically reached down and pushed down that top metal piece down that will hold the handle in place. It “locked” and I let go of the pump. As I was waiting for the tank to fill I looked down and noticed that this pump had also been stripped of that bottom piece that is supposed to hold the handle up – yet, the top piece had in fact found a little notch in the plastic and was staying in place.

I don’t know why my brain goes to places like this, but my thought was – huh, that’s just like my life. So, many times I never even attempt things because they “look” like they won’t work. If I had looked at the pump handle I would have never even tried to see if the top piece would still hold the handle in place. I would have assumed it was another stripped pump and I would just have to stand there and hold the handle – without ever trying.

I do this in life, too. I allow the circumstances to keep me from even trying things sometimes. Now, I’m not encouraging reckless abandon and foolishness (okay, maybe I am). It’s just when it comes to doing things in this life, I think we often make assumptions about what will or won’t work and that keeps us just going along with the crowd. Sometimes, we just need to step out and try something we think we should be doing without worrying about what the circumstances look like.

And there you have it – my theology of the gas pump.

/D