There are a few things I hate as much as this.
I live in a household with two teenagers… that should tell you something about my ability to accept things as they are.
But also, we have snakes. As pets. We fed our bearded dragon mealworms by hand, and my daughter has no qualms about catching any bug or spider and bringing it to me…
…but… There is one thing that ignites a fire in me.
When I take a sealed jar, and as I am about to open it… there is a cockroach inside…. and he just looks at me like… “Bru… I’m eating here… come on man!”
How… HOW?! How on God’s green earth did you even get in there?!
It is at this point (while throwing away perfectly good food) that I make passive-aggressive statements to the kitchen in a voice just loud enough and in a tone that will cut through any electronic device soundtrack about how it would be nice, if packaging would be closed after it was used… I would think.
I know the weird acoustics of my house. You cannot hear dishes being packed into the dishwasher from any room in the house… however, if I silently and quietly open a chocolate bar in the kitchen, I have two very innocent faces staring at me as I turn around asking me “watcha eating there…, father?!”
My statements about closing and packing away food items seem to fall in the same harmonic category as dishes. Completely imperceptible to the teenage ear.
The Bible has something to say on this topic. Jesus talks about this in Luke 11. He explains (as if needed) how a lamp works. and then says:
”Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.”
(Luke 11:34)
The Message has a beautiful way of saying it:
“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light!”
(Matthew 6:22 MSG)
But the opposite is also true. Society says we become blind to what we see every day, but it is not true. We normalise what we see every day. We don’t trust the politicians on TV, do we? We don’t find scantily clad young ladies at all shocking, (even at church events) Alcohol overuse, drugs… no real problem as long as it is in some kind of moderation…
But here is the thing… what are we letting our eyes see, what are we letting into our minds, into our hearts with some kind of an excuse? The porn is easy to recognize… but what about the unforgiveness, pride, anger… jealousy?
That cockroach was not put in the jar, it sneaked in when nobody was paying attention, and now it has made a home and is slowly ruining the food. Now drastic measures are needed.
Jesus is giving us a warning:
”See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”
(Luke 11:35 NIV)
What are you letting in? To your house, to your life and into your relationships?
