Fallen gummy bears

The five-second rule is stupid.

In fact, it's not even accurate. It only takes a mere millisecond for bacteria to attack anything that hits the ground. While I never factored in that a food's moisture or surface geometry or the condition of the floor determines how dirty that food gets—and not the amount of time it is actually on the floor—I knew the theory was bogus. I mean, it's just silly.

The other day I saw a gummy bear on my kitchen floor, and I had a decision to make: I could either waste a perfectly good gummy bear and throw it away, or I could let the little guy fulfill his purpose and be eaten.

Obviously I chose the latter.

Judge me all you want.

I had eaten some gummy bears earlier that day, so it's not like it had been there that long. I mean, it certainly exceeded the five-second rule, but as I stated before I don't buy into that at all. You know what happened when I ate that gummy bear? Nothing. I survived. And I have yet to notice any unfortunate repercussions that come with eating something that has been on the floor longer than a popular myth tells us to allow.

I still love him.

Are there ever times you shouldn't eat something that's fallen on the floor? Absolutely. But, if it's in the comfort of your own home, surely it's safe (as least you would hope so). I don't think we all have to be so paranoid about dirty things harming us all of the time, though. I'm pretty sure I ate dirt a few times when I was a kid. I'm still here.

I think people too often get treated like fallen gummy bears that are too far beyond the five-second rule: they mess up, and suddenly they're out of the realm of acceptance.

But there's no timetable for grace.

There's no five-second rule with God. No matter what you've done or how long you've been away from Him is not an issue—you're immediately made clean of all of the dirt you collected. And we should treat people in the same way: rather than five-second ruling them, we should extend grace and forgiveness when they mess up. We are all fallen gummy bears at some point and need a little bit of love to help us back up.

Every once in a while, you have to take chances in life. Whether it's taking a chance on a dirty gummy bear or taking a chance on a person, life can't always be lived in the caution zone.

Be bold—after all, you'll never know the wonderful things that can happen if you aren't willing to take a risk or two.