J.R. Briggs

Lifeguards who love their whistles a bit too much

July 26, 2010

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A little over a week ago my family went to a community pool/water park.

We had a fantastic day. Carter (our three-and-a-half year old) had a great time and, as a dad, it was a great joy to see him having so much fun. But one thing I noticed: the lifeguards love their whistles. These teenagers use them often.

I know deep down that the job of a life guard is a noble one: to protect and save people’s lives who are in danger in the water. Water can be dangerous. People drown every year. Safety is their number one objective. I get that. But what I didn’t sense was that the lifeguards’ job description included this line: make sure people have a good experience. Here’s what we experienced in our first time at the pool:

-There were whistles every couple of minutes followed by shouts of “No running!” It’s a perfectly good rule, but its hard for little kids to hold back their excitement at a water park.

-Later in the day, I did a backflip off the diving board. When I reached the surface of the water the lifeguard blew the whistle at me and said loudly, “No flips off the diving board!” (What? What kind of pool is this? No flips on a diving board? This is crazy!) His tone and body language was demeaning, as if he were saying “You should know this already.” The problem is I didn’t. I was a first timer.

-After a few hours Carter worked up enough courage to want to jump off the diving board and into my arms. When it was his turn, I went down the ladder, positioned myself under the board, treaded water, held my hands up and encouraged Carter to jump. And right before he jumped another lifeguard whistled me and said, “He’s too young. He hasn’t passed a swimming test. He’s not allowed to jump off the diving board!” Sheesh… I felt stupid once again being a first timer.

-One shallow section of one of the kiddie pools had pipes that shot water into the air. An older gentleman innocently stuck his foot over the pipe to see it spray in a different direction. Another whistle: “No touching the water pipes!” Unbelievable…

By the end of the day I wanted to call them the “NoFunGuards.”

But it made me wonder: we’re called into a God-initiated adventurous life of great excitement…and then we set up a bunch of rules for people to follow that are intended to keep people safe.

I’m beginning to believe that an unbelieving world thinks that Christians, Christian leaders and/or pastors are nothing more than a bunch of lifeguards at the water park.

Agree or disagree?

How do we make sure that we don’t become lifeguards who love our whistles just a bit too much?

What are your thoughts?

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