NO MUDDY VEHICLES

A sign I just saw on the side of a carwash cracked me up with its irony. It read, "No Muddy Vehicles." I realize that the sign is attempting, I am assuming, to discourage off-road vehicles, farm equipment, construction equipment, etc., that would be caked with drain-clogging, bay-soiling chunks of mud. However, I was struck with the seemingly incongruence of the posted notice, "No Muddy Vehicles," with the only reason for a car wash's existence. A car wash is a place for one to take a dirty vehicle and get it cleaned. The sign went against the purpose. May the Church never portray attitudes, make statements, concoct policies, exude unfriendliness, etc., that declare, "No Muddy People," "No Really Sinful Folks," "Nobody With Really Messed Up And Problem Filled Lives." That would insidiously and irrationally go against the very purpose of the Church. Dirty vehicles can leave a car wash bay a mess. Patients in an emergency room can likewise leave the treatment room a mess. But, that is why each exists. The car wash isn't closed because too many dirty cars have left things needing attention. The hospital doesn't shut its doors because the patients have soiled the linen, beds, and rooms. It is what each is about. And the Church is about sinful souls being washed and hurting people being healed. The sign on the car wash should be, "Bring All Dirty And Muddy Vehicles." The Church's sign must remain, "Come All You That Are Weary And Heavy Laden"-or rather, "Muddy Hearts Welcomed."