From the archives of Safety Equipment and Supply Ministry
Because the most important tool you have is you, the one God gave you. The one the giver of light, the Lord Jesus Christ created just for you. So don't be a tool, be a tool - for the Lord.
Video starts. Male speaker, a craftsman in a wood shop. We just see his hand, palm up. "I've noticed over time, that if I nick a finger or something, I'm more prone to accidents. I have to take it a little slower, because a nick might cause me to react, you know like this." The craftsman touches his thumb and finger together twice. First slowly, then a second time quickly "Instead of purposefully like this." He touches his thumb and for-finger together again, just once this time, deliberately.
He continues: "If you go to the Midwest, especially back in the days when there were a lot of family farms, you'd notice people missing hands, feet, arms, legs. They'd had an accident. Probably something got jammed into a harvester, or something, and they reached in to pull it out. Here in the Northwest it's fingers. Before the advent of all these new safety features you'd see wood workers without a thumb or finger because they'd had an accident -- with a power tool."
The video follows the craftsman over to a table saw. "Here you see a table saw with this awkward plastic hood over the blade. It comes with the saw." The craftsman pulls the clear plastic hood off the table saw with one quick movement. "Safety equipment. Sometimes it's worthless. It gets in the way when you try to make fine cuts, and causes more accidents then it prevents, if you ask me."
The craftsman powers up the saw. He starts sliding a piece of wood through and then gets a push stick. "See," he says as he finishes the cut. "That's all you need. There are better safety tools you can make yourself."
"Now don't forget your safety glasses and hearing protection, but I want to go into something else. I notice that if I nick my finger, or something, I'm more accident prone." The camera goes back to the craftsman hand. He touches his thumb and forefinger together and apart a couple of times. Deliberately the first time and then quickly, like a jerking reaction, the second time. "You see if I pull away suddenly, because of the slight nick or cut, it might cause me to accidentally jerk my hand into the blade or something. Also if you get a pain in the shoulder or leg or your just plain tired, you'll want to make sure you take just a little extra time, rather than make a mistake that might injure you."
The craftsman fires up the table saw. The camera zooms in on the blade whizzing through a flat piece of wood and the craftsman using a push stick again to guide it through. Suddenly he jerks and pushes the wood all the way through followed by his hand and a finger is cut off. Blood is everywhere, pumping out of his cut hand.
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY! WHAT-DID-I-JUST SAY!" he yells angrily. "Turn that thing off. Turn that thing off." The craftsman tries to push the camera away while while holding is cut hand under his arm to stop the bleeding. The camera fades out.
The camera fades back in again. "You know we were just kidding, right!" the craftsman voice starts up again. The camera pans from table saw to the craftsman holding a fake severed finger and hand.
"Safety is no joke and we don't mean to make light of it but remember: the most important tool you have is you."
