A wise man once told me, “Do the things that God created you to do – and avoid the things that God instructed you not to do.” That’s good wisdom. We get in deep trouble when we don’t follow it. It happened to Charlie Duke, one of the astronauts on Apollo 16.
Apollo 16 was launched 3 years after Neil Armstrong touched the moon. It was the fifth mission to land men on the moon and then return them to earth. The overall purpose of Apollo 16 was to optimize the capability for scientific return.
In an interview with Business Insider, Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 astronaut, relates a story of how he almost died on the moon. It came because he was trying to be cute and do something he shouldn’t be doing.
John Young was the mission commander. Young and Duke were out “moon walking” and had a few minutes before returning to the lunar module. Duke decided to do something that he thought you could do on the moon that you couldn’t do on the earth. He called it “Moon Olympics.” He was going to break all the records for the high jump because of the very small amount of gravity on the moon. But the weight of his suit and support system strapped to his back proved to be too heavy. He fell on his back.
The vital systems in his backpack were potentially damaged. He said, “The backpack weighed as much as I did, so I went over backwards. It’s a fiberglass shell and it contains all your life support systems. If it broke, I was dead.”
Young helped Duke to his feet, and they very carefully made their way back to the lunar module. Duke was listening to see if there was any hissing sound that would indicate a tear in his space suit. He also was hoping that none of his life support systems were broken. Duke said, “I learned a lesson. Never do anything in space that you haven’t practiced – and we had not practiced the high jump.”
There are certain laws that cover the universe. One of those is gravity. It’s different on the moon, but it’s still in effect. We don’t break the law of gravity – the law of gravity breaks us. If you jump out of a 2-story window, don’t expect to float. Regardless of who you are, you will hit the ground!
Some people think the laws of God are optional. Some even think that if you’re living “on the moon,” you don’t have to obey God’s directions for living. The Bible gives us the 10 commandments. They are not the 10 suggestions. They are given for our benefit to help us live effectively. We don’t break the 10 commandments – the 10 commandments will break us.
God’s children obey their Father. John writes, “Whoever says I have come to know Him but does not habitually keep focused on and obey His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him.” (I John 2:4) Read also Deuteronomy 4:2; 30:8; Psalms 119:115; Jeremiah 7:23; John 15:10; I John 5:3
Whether you are on the moon or on the earth, accept and obey the things God has put in place. Don’t get cute. Don’t become arrogant. Don’t begin to think that you are above God’s laws. Submit to and obey God’s rules. Do the things God created you to do, and avoid the things God told you not to do.
