“Square Tires”

February 06, 2011

Isaiah 58:1-12 Matthew 5:13-20

Around here we have Joe’s Tire but the people who live near Sioux City, Iowa are familiar with a tire store
of another name. With four stores in and around Sioux City is a tire store known as “Square Tire.”
Naturally, none of us would ever imagine that this store actually sells square tires bust instead their name is a
play off the phrase, “square deal” and that is, in fact one of their advertising pitches, “Square tire… always a
square deal.” In the Veggie Tales cartoons, Pa Grape’s truck has triangles for wheels and as I searched the
Internet yesterday the only other tires that I could find weren’t round had been created using computer
programs. It is only in the cartoons and in Charlie Chaplain comedies where tires are anything but round. A
square tire would be like a screen door in a submarine. It completely defeats the purpose for which it was
intended. Today we find that sometimes the square tire is, in fact,… us.

In Isaiah 58:1-12 God speaks to his people saying,,,

1
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2
For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
6
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the
yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
11
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

1
God’s people humbled themselves and fasted and prayed but it seemed as if God wasn’t listening. When
they asked why God did not hear, God proclaims that they just don’t get the point. God says that on the very
day that the people were fasting and praying, they were also abusing their workers and fighting with one
another. For God, the point is not for us to fast and look miserable and to make a big show of how faithful
we are, but instead the point is to fight against injustice, to free the oppressed, to feed the hungry, give shelter
to the homeless, clothe the naked and to help those in need. God tells his people that once they get the point
and once they begin to do these things, then God will bless them, then God will answer the prayers of his
people. God says that what he wants is for his people to free the oppressed, to stop gossiping, and being
mean spirited and instead to use our energy to bring aid to the hungry and the oppressed. When God’s
people do these things, then God will bless then and restore their greatness.

The Bible is full of stories where God’s people were missing the point. We saw it in Isaiah, we see it again
in Matthew 5:13-20 and we see it in dozens of other places as well…
13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no
longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp
and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the
same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in
heaven.
17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but
to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least
stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore
anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least
in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

In the time of the Bible, salt was used for many things and it was a very valuable commodity. Salt,
particularly the salt mined in the area near the Dead Sea, is believed by many historians to be why the
Romans found so much value in keeping troops in Israel. You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase about a
person who was “worth their salt?” This comes from the fact that many roman soldiers were paid not in
money but in a certain amount of salt. Salt was used for many things. It was sometimes used to help seal the
roofs of houses and it was used as a catalyst to make the fires in baking ovens burn cleaner and hotter. In the
end, after the salt had been in the rain and weather or after it had been through many cycles of fire in the
oven, salt no longer had the properties that it had in the beginning. The salt that no longer did what salt was
supposed to do was said to have lost its saltiness. After that, the only thing that salt was good for was to
throw on the road to fill in potholes or muddy spots.

Salt that isn’t salty is as useless as a screen door in a submarine or as useless as a square tire.

The problem is that God says that is exactly what we are when we ignore the things that God has taught us.
That is exactly what we are when we do not remember the point.

What if Troy Polamalu, a guy who could potentially be the game MVP every single time he step foot on the
football field, what if he just decided that being a strong safety wasn’t his “thing” What if every time Troy

2
Polamalu stepped on the field this evening he tried to be a wide receiver or a quarterback. What he just
decided that he didn’t like all the violence and just stepped aside and did nothing on the field except watch
what the others on his team were doing? What if on each play, Troy Polamalu just ignored the coach and ran
whatever play he felt like playing? His presence would become less than useless; his actions would work
against the purpose for which they were intended and against the purposes of his teammates and his team. It
is easy to see that in such a situation, the team would have a better chance without him even though he is an
amazing talent. In pretty short order, the coach would have him removed or replaced.

In church, none of us are likely to be the kind of talent that Troy Polamalu is on the football field, but we are
all on the same team. We are all called to do our part and Jesus tells us that as members of his team we are
not allowed to pick and choose which commands we want to follow. We don’t get to ignore the coach, we
can’t play whatever position we feel like it and we can’t just stand on the field and watch the rest of the team.

Our calling is to stop abusing the people who work for us whether they are employees or the greeters at Wal-
Mart or the kid running the drive through at McDonalds. Our calling is to stop fighting with one another, to
stop gossiping about other people, stop being mean-spirited and instead to fight against injustice, free the
oppressed, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, help those in need and to bring
hope to the hopeless.

That is the point.

When we remember to do these things then, and only then, will God answer our prayers. Then God will
pour out his blessings and restore his church to the greatness that it once had.

When we remember to do these things then we stop being useless.

When we remember to do these things then we stop being…

…square wheels.

3

You have been reading a message presented at Barnesville First United Methodist Church on the
date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor of Barnesville First.
Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this
way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or
any of our other projects may be sent to Barnesville First UMC at 123 W. Church St., Barnesville,
OH 43713. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.
You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address
noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@barnesvillefirst.com. If you have questions, you can ask
them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can
also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge and audio podcasts at
http://www.sermoncloud.com/ (type the church name in the search box). All Scripture references
are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.