I believe in gravity. I really believe in gravity. Even though I can’t actually see gravity, I see its effects. I’ve experienced those effects, and have seen how gravity has affected others. Gravity is defined as “the attraction of bodies toward the center of the earth.” I believe that. Therefore my actions try to correspond with that belief.

Last fall, I was on the roof of our house blowing the pine straw off the roof and out of the gutters. Even though the pitch on our roof is not that steep, I was careful. Climbing up and down the ladder, I was careful. I was especially careful using the blower as I came closer to the edge of the roof. Because I knew if I slipped over the edge of the roof I would experience the full effects of gravity. And it wouldn’t be the fall that would be painful. It’s the sudden stop.

When I was young I learned about the apple supposedly falling on Sir Isaac Newton’s head and the Law of Gravity. And I have experienced it. Among other things, I’ve fallen out of trees, off the back of a pickup truck, and from up in a tobacco barn while taking out tobacco. (That’s something many of you reading don’t have a clue about. Trust me, you didn’t miss anything.) Yes, there have been times I have disregarded and ignored gravity and have paid the price. Fortunately, other than some painful bumps and bruises, the only somewhat serious injury from all those meetings with gravity was a broken wrist years ago.

I learned about the Law of Gravity when I was young. Back then I also learned about another law, the Law of L.F. and Ethel. My father and mother laid down the law when I was a kid. Daddy and mama were fair, but there were consequences for violating their laws. I believed their laws, and did what I could to avoid those consequences.

When I turned 16, daddy gave me the “staying out late law.” He told me, “You can stay out late if you want to. But if I have to go in there twice in the morning to get you out of bed, the second time will be with a belt.”

My corresponding actions proved I believed him. There were times when I was out with the guys and it was getting late. I would tell them that I had to go, and head on home to get to bed. There were times that I did stay out a little too late. But the next morning, I would get out of bed the first time he called me, no matter how good the bed was sleeping at the time. I may have been half awake, but I was out of the bed. Why? Because I believed him, really believed him. (Would he have actually used a belt on me if I didn’t get up? I don’t know. I didn’t want to find out.)

So I believe in gravity and I believed what my daddy said about staying out late and getting up the next morning. My actions confirm it. But what about other things I say I believe? I suppose I’m often just like the man who came to Jesus with a sick child in the Gospel of Mark. I understand it completely when he cries out to Jesus, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

There is a God and He is active in the affairs of man. I heard that statement many years ago. It has become a foundation for me. I believe it. But, like my belief in gravity, and my belief years ago in the “staying out late law,” do I really believe it? I suppose the best way to tell would be by my actions. Do they correspond with what I say I believe? Sometimes they do and, sadly, sometimes they don’t. But my actions or inactions do not make it untrue.

There is still a God and He is still active in the affairs of man. My actions impact how that truth affects my life. My corresponding actions helped avoid the needless pain of the sudden stop of hitting the ground, and of being on the wrong end of a belt. Maybe getting my actions to correspond more to what I say I believe about God will also help me avoid some more needless pain.

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By Mac McPhail

Contributing columnist

Mac McPhail, raised in Sampson County, lives in Clinton and can be reached at [email protected].