Saved From a Sticky Situation

I heard about one of the strangest disasters in American history last week, and it got me to thinking…

There is a saying, “Slower than molasses”. And for those of us who have never dealt with molasses on a cold winter morning, before the wood stove begins to heat the room, well, let’s just say we don’t realize just how slow molasses pours from one container to another.

According to idioms.thefreedictionay. com, this simile is American in origin, and dates from the mid or late nineteenth century. J. W. McAndrews wrote in Monologue, ca. 1880, “He’s slower than molasses,”.

Today we might say that to a child who is taking his or her time getting a chore done, or a friend who is being indecisive on a department store purchase. And sometimes, just sometimes, our walk with God can feel like that too.

I don’t know about you, but occasionally I feel like I will never be good enough. I feel the pressures of this world, the pull and the tug and I wonder about myself. Like I am trying to wade through cold molasses.

Why would a professed Christian still have struggles? We struggle with feelings of inadequacy. Struggles with temptation, anger, jealousy, and addiction. Many feel isolated, lonely and misunderstood. Shouldn’t we have it all together if we love and follow Jesus?

So many times in my life, and even more so recently, it seems the harder I try at something, the worse I make it and the worse I feel about it and myself. Will I ever be good enough? Will I ever measure up?

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.”

Do you know this to be true? Like slow-moving cold molasses, sin has made its way into our life and the lives of those around us and we feel helpless. We can’t move through it like we should; we can’t think about it like we should, we feel hopeless and helpless and so often we simple give up and sit down in the middle of that mess.

C.S. Lewis went on to say, “A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

That is beautiful!

1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

“Temptation”, or a variation of the word, is used three times in that one text. The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested. But please take note of these three things in that verse.

1) God is faithful.

2) He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.

3) And will always make a way of escape that you may be able to endure it.

And now for one of the strangest disasters in American history.

“On January 15, 1919, a poorly-constructed tank burst open and sent a 25-foot-high wave of molasses through Boston's North End, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.

Just after 12:30 p.m. on January 15, 1919, a Purity Distilling Company molasses storage tank exploded in the city’s North End. As many as 2.3 million gallons of the sticky liquid spilled out in a matter of seconds.

The resulting wave spread out across a two-block radius. It flattened offices and homes, and it lifted a firehouse off of its foundation. The molasses swept away vehicles and horse-drawn carriages, and it even moved with enough force to warp the girders of the Atlantic Avenue Elevated train tracks. Those who found themselves in the flood’s path were carried away, crushed, or drowned.

To make matters worse, the molasses thickened once exposed to the winter air. After the wave subsided, scores of people lay entombed beneath a substance thousands of times more viscous than water.

First responders to the scene had to wade through feet of molasses to search for survivors — and pull 21 dead bodies from the mess.

After the wave of molasses subsided and rescue efforts were underway, officials began trying to determine what had caused the disaster. The owners of Purity Distilling, the United States Industrial Alcohol Company (USIA), initially claimed that anarchists had blown up the molasses tank in protest. Soon, however, it was revealed that residents had been reporting leaks in the tank since its construction.

Purity Distilling reportedly painted the tank dark red to disguise the leaks in response to residents' concerns. Of course, that did nothing to fix the root of the problem. (Source: allthatisinteresting . com)

Lies and deceit to cover up a big problem, and on that fateful January day, one of the cracks gave way — and the entire tank ripped itself apart.

Those who witnessed the disaster firsthand spoke of the power of the giant wave of molasses that descended on Boston's North End.

According to Boston.com, the Globe reported that a man named B.E. Kingsley who worked in an office near the tank said he heard a rumble that he thought was the elevated train. When it didn't stop, however, he looked out of his window.

"Where the tank stood there was no tank," Kingsley recalled. "Instead was a mighty wall of some kind — a giant wave of molasses. And it was sweeping rapidly down upon the office, gaining momentum every second."

He continued, "A second later, it seemed, there was a crash. Doors and windows were as if they had not existed. The molasses poured in... and everything in the office, including myself and the clerks, was toppled over like nine-pins under the weight of the wave."

The incident was over nearly as quickly as it had begun, but it left a gruesome scene in its wake.

As the Boston Post reported at the time:

"There was no escape from the wave. Caught, human being and animal alike could not flee. Running in it was impossible. Snared in its flood was to be stifled. Once it smeared a head — human or animal — there was no coughing off the sticky mass. To attempt to wipe it with hands was to make it worse. Most of those who died, died from suffocation. It plugged nostrils almost air-tight."

Hundreds of injured and dying people lay trapped in the sea of molasses. Debris from the destruction of vehicles and buildings littered the streets. Part of the elevated train trestle had even collapsed. It would take hours to pull survivors from the wreckage — and months to clean up the mess.

In the hours following the disaster, crowds rushed to the scene to survey the damage and free those who were trapped in the molasses or beneath the rubble. Rescuers used hatchets and crowbars in an attempt to reach the people who were pinned by debris. Others reached into the sticky liquid to pull victims to the surface — and came back up with severed limbs.

The disaster made headlines the following day, superseding news of the latest U.S. state to ratify prohibition. The death toll eventually rose to 21 people.

Describing the rescue effort, a Boston Post reporter wrote:

"Here and there struggled a form — whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was... Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Human beings‍ — men and women‍ — suffered likewise."

Over the next four days, Red Cross workers, police, firefighters, and U.S. Army and Navy personnel combed through the rubble. All told, the Boston molasses disaster left 21 dead and 150 injured while causing over $7 million in property damage (which would equal more than $100 million today).

A series of civil suits followed the incident. After three years of hearings, USIA paid more than $600,000 in out-of-court settlements to the victims and their families (more than $8.4 million today).

Much of the site of the Boston molasses flood now rests within Langone Park. The only sign that the bizarre disaster ever took place is a commemorative plaque at the park entrance. (Source: all that is interesting . com)

Friend, there is a day coming that will be much more disastrous than that. Luke 13:28 describes it as “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.” NKJV

Jesus is coming again. He is going to save us from this sticky situation. He is going to lift us up and set our feet on solid ground. And on that day, there will only be two groups of people, only two:

The saved.

The lost.

Have you accepted Him as your only life line?

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 NKJV

by Jeanette Stark – Monday, May 1, 2023