Are You Hot or Cold?

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, talks about the church in the ancient city of Laodicea that was neither hot or cold. The message to this church was something they could identify with. It had become a city built up around the trade routes between east and west. The problem was that there was little water in the Lychus Valley. However, there were hot springs to the north, around the city of Hierapolis and cold water springs south of the city in nearby Colossae. They were able to bring the cold water to the  city by mules and carts. Since the hot springs were at a higher elevation the Romans built an aqueduct of 3 foot square, blocks with a hole in the center and cemented together to propel the water down to Laodicea  to supply the spas, the bathhouses and for cooking. The cold water was still pretty cold for the trip from Colossae, a declining city, was not long. However the water coming down from Hierapolis, especially in the wintertime when the limestone aqueduct  became cold was only tepid. It was neither hot or cold, no good for cooking or bathing. It was definitely not drinkable. If you have ever had a lukewarm drink, you know it is not palatable. Coupled with the high mineral content, its only value was as an emetic. Hence the passage in Scripture, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:16)

Many in our profession are like the water coming from the aqueduct, no longer hot enough to bathe in or cold enough for a refreshing drink. Many have lost their excitement, their zeal and zest (from the Greek word for “hot”) for the profession, many have never had it. Some even started out hot, they were excited about chiropractic and enthusiastic about their profession  and their role in the well-being of humanity. But after a while the coldness of embracing the  outside-in/medically oriented environment, chilled that enthusiasm so now they were only lukewarm at best. Many a chiropractor who had no philosophy, having gone to a school that did not teach the philosophy of chiropractic, upon hearing it, often became enthusiastic and “hot” for it. Unfortunately, many of them, unless they stayed on fire with regular,consistent exposure to it became lukewarm, abandoning or never acknowledging the chiropractic principles as their priority. If too many in our profession become lukewarm for one reason or another we can expect the profession to be vomited out of the mouth of the public.