The Vick‘s Salve Syndrome
Paul Stringer
I believe that the person who first said, “The customer is always right,” never worked in a retail sales position. A few years back, a lady who I had never seen before stormed into the pharmacy we owned at the time, made a bee-line to the cough and cold section, picked up a familiar blue bottle, and proclaimed, “I want Vick’s Salve. I don’t want this Vick’s Vapo-Rub; I want Vick’s SALVE — the kind you can take. I KNOW they still make it!”
I tried to explain to the lady that as long as I could remember, the product had been known as Vapo-Rub, but was familiarly called Vick’s salve and that actually it was never intended to be taken internally. But it soon became obvious that mine was not the first drugstore she had “hit,” and that this scenario and my explanation, had been played often before. So I thanked her for coming in and went about my business. This lady’s behavior may not be typical of all customers, but it is typical of many religious people — they have this “Vick’s Salve Syndrome.” They get a concept in their minds that is completely foreign to Biblical teaching and no amount of quoting of the Scriptures can convince them they could possibly be wrong. Their position is, “My mind is made up, so don’t confuse me with the facts.”
How people arrive at mistaken ideas can take many forms. Some espouse certain positions because they have always thought it to be so, with no inkling as to why they think that way. Several years ago, I asked an elderly gentleman to cite a Scripture to back up his teaching on premillennialism. His answer: “I don’t know where it is, but I know its there because I once taught it in Sunday School.” Peter says, “… always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…” (2 Pet 2:15).
Others accept doctrine because their preacher teaches it. Many rest on the concept that the church hires the preacher to advise them on Spiritual matters, so what he says must be right. It’s a dangerous thing to risk one’s eternal destiny upon what some mortal man might teach. The noble Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if Paul’s teaching was true (Acts 17:11).
Some believe as they do because of ancestry, having the notion that “whatever was good enough for Mom and Dad is good enough for me.” Isn’t it peculiar that only in religion do they adhere to this? Paul warned the Corinthians not to think of men beyond what is written (1 Cor 4:6-KJV). This includes ancestors.
What stirred my customer up about the Vick’s salve was that the company had started labeling the product that it should not be taken internally. They had never intended it to be used that way, but people thought such to be all right because it didn’t say not to. Many think their religious practices are all right because the Bible does not say not to do them. Because medical science recognized that camphor can be toxic when ingested, the company added the “not to” on the label. The Bible does say “not to” — not to add to or take from what it authorizes (Rev 22:18-19). Most people in religious error do not have an appreciation for Bible authority. Their thought is “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.” They don’t comprehend that God has always demanded obedience to His will. All who violate it will suffer the consequences. Why they hold false beliefs does not matter, because the Scriptures are complete (2 Tim 3:16-17).