The truth about...dihydrogen monoxide

I need to bring to your attention something life-shattering...there is a chemical compound out there that kills people every year.  A chemical that all governments have ignored, in fact, promoting as good and necessary!

Here are some highlights copied from http://www.dhmo.org/truth/Dihydrogen-Monoxide.html

• is also known as hydric acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
• contributes to the Greenhouse Effect.
• may cause severe burns.
• contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
• may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients. 

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant.
• in nuclear power plants.
• in the production of styrofoam.
• as a fire retardant.
• in many forms of cruel animal research.
• in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
• as an additive in certain junk-foods and other food products. 

Some of you may remember the attempt to have dihydrogen monoxide banned years ago.  Many signed the petitions.  So what became of this?

Nothing.  The truth is that dihydrogen monoxide is also known as H20 or...water (you smart scientific geeks probably picked up on that already).

I remember reading this for the first time and being absolutely appalled (clearly I am not a smart, scientific geek).  Then I found out that this chemical compound is actually the single most necessary, life-giving substance in the world and everything changed.

I have always been a fan of water.  Maybe it comes from being a lifeguard and swimming instructor for so many years or from swimming around in my grandparents' pool growing up.  I guess I've always been a bit of a fish.  There's something about the fluidity and beauty of water that makes my heart smile.  I don't know if I could ever live permanently away from the ocean.  I love love love living on an Island, with the ocean only mere minutes away.  There is something so healing about the vastness and danger of the ocean that I love.  It always speaks to the greatness and beauty of my Creator.

But this article made me think differently about water.  Well, about two things in particular...

The first is how people will believe anything that sounds "scientific".  The data seems irrefutable.  The report paints H20 as a dangerous, fatal chemical that must be regulated and eradicated at all costs.  How many people signed that original petition?  Loads.  And why?  Not because they were stupid, but because they chose not to research the chemical for themselves.  They gave in to their fears, because the study appeared to be legitimate.  How easy is it to twist a few words, carefully highlight the negative correlations between something good and something normally seen as bad (eg. tumors), and plant a few seeds of fear in someone's head?  Of water, no less!  It reminds me how important it is for me to really examine the things that I hear, no matter where it comes from (even if it's an official looking petition or website), and make an educated decision.  Our world needs people who will think for themselves and not merely get sucked along with the crowd in something that looks and feels and sounds right.

How often have you done something just because it seemed like the right thing at the time and everyone else thought so too?  And then later it turned out to be crap?  I know I have.  So...be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves, my friends!  (little Biblical reference there for ya :P)

The second thought I had was a little different.  In fact it was about sex.  I know right, drawing connections between H20 and sex?  Seriously though, stick with me...  Water is something that God created for good.  It feeds us, it keeps us alive, it is absolutely necessary for life.  It doesn't matter who or what you are...if you have a life to live, you need water.  Unless you're a cactus.  But that's a whole other ball game...

Back to sex though...the website about dihydrogen monoxide made me laugh, thinking about how something so good when taken out of context can be so painful and dangerous.  You still with me here?  How many of you have experienced or have seen someone close to you experience how painful sex in the wrong context can be?  I'm not going to get all preachy, so I'll rest my case here: just as water can be life-giving, and healthy and all around awesome when it's in the right context, so can it also leave you burned, cold, drowned, battered, beaten, shattered, frozen, shivering and damaged when misused, abused, or experienced in the wrong context.


And it goes for more than just sex.  Think about how you use videogames, movies, music, Facebook, texting, alcohol, drugs, medicine, the list goes on and on...

Is your life about something that is life-giving and a blessing to everyone around you?  A spring of living water, as you will?  Or do the things you do leave you feeling cold and shattered, burning up the good around you, battering the other people in your life?

Think about it....

John 7:37-38 "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'"