Wednesday, February 28, 2018 

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”  (2 Corinthians 2:15)

                You stink! But I like you anyway!

                Today, I heard about a study – who gives out money for these things? – that links one’s sense of smell to one’s political choices. One of the more interesting findings was that those people who are more sensitive to and thereby repulsed by really bad odors are more likely to have voted for Donald Trump. There’s a straight line in there somewhere but I think I’d better just move on.

                So, I did a little bit of research for today’s blog and I discovered that there are a whole lot of studies relating our odors and scents to the various choices we make.

                One article noted that “It's so easy to use smell to alter perception and assessment of a person or people.” (Gayil Nalls, Psychology Today)  She was curious whether smells  “sway our perceptions and judgments of others."

                When I was pastoring in Point Claire, Quebec, being in a suburban church we didn’t get a lot of transient traffic.  But there was one man who visited me once or twice a year. My office was at the back of the main foyer but I could smell this man the minute the door opened and he stepped in. I always wished that we had a shower in the building and some clean clothes for him.  But I helped him as best I could. I am pretty sure that most people were repulsed by this man and for good reason. His poverty truly stunk!

                Another study published by the American Journal of Political Science claims that “people prefer the body odor of those who vote as they do.” You thought you chose your life’s partner because he or she looked handsome or beautiful and was smart but really it was because he or she smelt right to you.

                Science, eh?

                Paul was way ahead of his time.  People who follow Jesus Christ should have, in a sense (pun intended), a unique but pleasant “body” odor. People should be able to recognize we are a part of Jesus’ family because we emit the fragrance of his Love and grace the minute we walk into a room.

                What is the aroma of Christ? It is the sweet fragrance of Christ-like Love and compassion effused into a world that could use a little air freshener now and then.  We should be making a positive difference around us by our words, deeds, actions, and faith.  It is very sad when Christianity stinks badly of hypocrisy, abuses, judgmentalism, institutionalism and religious arrogance. Instead we should be an “aroma pleasing to God” and therefore to others.

                Some translations use the word “savour” instead of “aroma”. Recall those times of walking into your home and there is the pleasant aroma of a meal being cooked. A hearty stew is simmering in the slow cooker. Or a chicken is in the oven. Or someone has baked cookies or baked bread. The smells are tantalizing, mouth-watering, savory. Not only are you hungry, but the savoury smells make you feel at home, safe, warm, and comforted from the day’s busy-ness.

                I would like today’s Christians to exude that savoury smell of love, compassion,  hope, peace, acceptance, tolerance, inclusiveness, and justice that wraps people up in a pungent  but balm-like fragrance of Christ-likeness.

                Maybe what the world needs now is a bunch of “stinky” people drenched in the sweat of Jesus. 

Dale