I Don't Know You From Adam…

Warning! Prepare To Meet God

May 1st, 2010

Subjective:
I grew up in the shadow of a billboard reading Warning: Prepare to Meet God. Well not really. The billboard was about 2 blocks from my parents house. It was/is on the access road next to I-30 and we turned by that billboard every day. It was one of the first things I read. To be honest, at 5 or 6 years old that was a pretty scary sign. I was old enough at the time to be scared of the word WARNING. I knew that meant I could get hurt. Hell, this is Saline County! There’s always a freakin’ tornado warning or a thunderstorm warning. A local church has sponsored that billboard for decades. Sharon Missionary Baptist Church to be exact.

Objective:
The Sign is a beacon in Benton. It’s a landmark. People only vaguely familiar with Benton know that sign.
“Do I turn before or after the Prepare to Meet God sign?”
“They’re building a new movie theater? Where? Oh down behind the Prepare to Meet God sign. That’ll be a good spot.”
“Take the exit just past Prepare to Meet God”
I have no idea how old the Sign is. It’s at least 38 years old. It is very ominous. The intent was, I’m sure, get right with Jesus and have a better life. What I saw and understood in my little mind was that the world was about to end and God was coming. To this day anytime I see a movie or TV show with a guy wearing sandwich board or carrying a sign that says “The End Is Near” , I think about that Billboard. When I was 9, it was the height of the Cold War and the Russians were coming! We were going to be nuked! As I said, I’m not too sure of the history of the sign but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t erected soon after the interstate was constructed in the 60s, just a few years after the Cuban Missle Crisis. Back then I-30 was called the “New Benton Highway” and had lights on all the exit and entrance ramps. The lights on the interstate said “stop at Benton, we’re welcoming, we’ve got great dining, clean restrooms, and good schools. But we gotta warn ya: Prepare to Meet God!”

Assessment:
The sign doesn’t scare me anymore. Not sure about my daughters. Sometimes Olivia, my oldest, can be pretty oblivious so I’m not sure she’s noticed it. Like I said, it’s a Benton landmark like the Courthouse, or Ed and Kays, or Redgate. Yes, I realize Redgate Liquor Store is across the county line, but as Saline County is Dry, Redgate has always felt like it was part of Benton as it was the first place across the Line to buy liquor. Ironically, the Applebees next to the Sign now has a private club permit for liquor sales. The Sign has a message to it, but I see it so much I don’t think about it or consider it. That’s kind of sad. The biggest, most thought provoking message in town gets lost in the background of the world around it. The Sign does get its point across if I dwell on it, like today.

Plan:
Warning! Prepare To Meet God! I hope that sign stays there for the next 38 years. Although the land underneath the sign had a For Sale sign on it. I’m not sure if Sharron Missionary Baptist still maintains the sign or if it’s a private party taking care of it. If they ever take it down, I won’t know how to tell people to get to my parents house.

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