White Wide

Several years ago my wife and I restored a 1963 Shasta Camper. It was in great condition for its age when we bought it. But we had to sand and shellac the interior wood, put new tile down on the floor, and redo the seating and beds. Our son, Luke, gave the outside a new paint job. Another thing I did was install a couple of new electric outlets to accommodate some things that weren’t available in 1963 such as a small flat screen tv.

The day finally came when we plugged in the electricity and gave the lights and outlets a try. Deb and I stepped up into the camper and turned on the lights. Tada! Everything worked. We were able to turn the lights on (and off) and the outlets did their thing. As we were discussing our excitement that everything was working, Deb stayed inside the camper and I went outside. We were talking through an open window on the camper.

At this point, I place my hand on the side of the camper. Suddenly a jolt of electricity was traveling through my arm and down my leg.

Since I wrote this, you know it didn't kill me. Fortunately, instead of killing me, the breaker snapped off in the breaker box that fed the outlet in the shed where I had the camper plugged-in.

Needless to say, this gave me quite a scare. I did some studying on camper wiring and discovered that if the unit was not properly grounded, the camper could have what is known as a “hot skin”. That’s what was wrong. The electricity was traveling thru the aluminum skin of the camper making it more than a cool vintage camper, now it was also a hot voltage camper. I then discovered there was a ground wire underneath the camper that was broken. It ran from the little junction box inside the camper, through the floor and, was supposed to be connected to the metal frame. I went to work on it by replacing the ground wire, cleaning the connection, and then making sure it was well tightened down. I also re-checked all the other connections to make sure there were no other loose wires.

I then read about a test tool that should be used to make sure the outlet to which the camper is plugged is grounded. In fact, I learned that the tester should be carried with the camper when traveling and that the outlets at campgrounds should be tested before plugging in any camper.

However, I was still afraid, after my previous experience, to plug in the camper. So I asked a friend of mine, who knows about electricity, to look it over and hold my hand, sort of speak when I plugged it in again. So he agreed to come over to my place.

As we were discussing the problem, he casually said something I had never heard before. He said, “When you’re wiring an outlet, just make sure the white wire is on the wide side.” I stopped him and asked him to repeat what he just said. He repeated, “When you’re wiring an outlet, just make sure the white wire is on the wide side.” I said, “I’ve never heard that before. You’re saying WHITE WIDE? Is that correct?” He confirmed it. The white wire is always attached to the side of the outlet with the wide slot. So now the light bulb came on above my head (no pun intended). Green goes to the Ground, White goes to the Wide, and then that leaves only the Black or hot wire, which is attached to the other side of the outlet.

Everyone, who has ever been around any electric wiring knows green is ground. The green wire always gets connected to the green screw. GREEN GROUND is well known. But nobody ever said, “WHITE WIDE.” In all the years I’d ever been around an electrician wiring something they always talked about the ground wire, the common, the neutral, the hot. But they never ever said WHITE WIDE!

White-wide opened up a whole new experience allowing me to conquer wiring like a pro. With my new tester, I discovered the outlet my camper was plugged into was not grounded. Now I knew why! The White wire was NOT connected to the WIDE side of the outlet. In fact, I discovered that half the outlets in my sheds were wired backward.

Then I tested my new knowledge on a couple of guys I know who are do-it-yourselfers. When it came to White Wide, they were in the dark (no pun intended). I asked one of them if he’s ever done much electrical work. He told me that he certainly had and in fact had re-wired three houses. I said then you know what I mean when I say White Wide. He didn’t have a clue. I explained it and he confessed that he had no idea that it made any difference which side the white and black wire were attached to an outlet. I ask another friend. He had no idea and now imagined that half the outlets on the farm were backward. I have asked many people who have done a little bit of wiring and not one of them has known what I was talking about.

Some knew the common wire and neutral wire lingo. But none simplified it down to WHITE WIDE. I suppose those trained in electricity are taught the terminology and to them, it’s simple and makes perfect sense. But to the guys like me, WHITE WIDE has been a revelation. All my outlets are now wired correctly!

Explaining wiring and explaining Jesus have something in common. One of the great compliments I receive fairly often is when people tell me they understand everything I say. They will generally add a comment about me not talking over their heads. I respond by telling them it’s impossible for me to talk over their heads because I’m not that smart.

But the fact is, I was told when I first began preaching to make sure the 5-year-olds in the church service understand everything you say. That was wise advice. What good is it trying to explain something to someone using words they don’t understand?

Someone could talk to a friend, who has never wired an outlet, about commons and neutrals, or they could simply say White Wide. White wide, green ground, and dismisses the class with the knowledge needed for them to get it right.

Many years ago I was given the opportunity to speak at a church in Guatemala. I had a Guatemalan interpreter who was going to be assisting me. He would interpret my message in Spanish. However, when we arrived at the church, I discovered that the congregation spoke Quiche. Just prior to the service I noticed the Pastor of the church and my interpreter having a very tense discussion. When they finished, my interpreter came to me and with a tone of disgust said, “I guess we're going to translate to Quiche also.” This meant when I said something my interpreter would translate what I said into Spanish. The Pastor, who spoke both Spanish and Quiche, would then translate to Quiche.

I began by telling the congregation that I seldom have had the opportunity to speak to a group of people as beautiful as them. When I said that in English, there was of course no response. They didn’t know what I said. But then the interpreter repeated what I said in Spanish. Here was the kicker. There was still no response! They didn’t understand what he said either! Then the Pastor repeated what we both said in Quiche. The smiles and giggles lit up the room! What good does it do to use words people don’t understand?

I seldom use a Greek or Hebrew word in a sermon. But when I have, I have also taken the time to simplify the meaning of those words and explain why they make a difference. In contrast, I’ve heard preachers throw around a lot of Greek and Hebrew words with little or no explanation. I suppose they learned the terminology and to them it makes perfect sense. Or maybe they just hope to sound like the smartest guy in the room. I don’t know.

However, I do know that the most important thing that anyone can explain is how to have an eternal relationship with God. It has to be explained in terms all can comprehend and digest. I don’t think the most important thing I can do is sound smart. I think the most important thing I can do is make Jesus known.

When the Apostle Paul came to the city of Corinth he said he came to the people determined not to know anything among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul didn’t want the people to know how much he knew. He wanted them to know how much Jesus Christ loved them. (1 Corinthians 2:2)

When we have opportunities to explain our faith, let’s be real, let’s be loving, and let’s be refreshingly simple. Let’s not be pretentious when White Wide will serve our listeners best.