Wednesday, September 4, 2019

“For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.” (1 Corinthians 15:56, New Living Translation) 

                [Good News! Susan and I are proud to announce the safe and healthy arrival of our fifth grandson, Becket Clark Nicholas Soble, a son for Nick and Erin Soble and a  brother to William and Henry -  last Wednesday, August 28. Yeah!!!]

                I haven’t been stung by a wasp or hornet or bee since I don’t know when.

                But over the summer, wasps have been building a nest near our front stoop. Somehow, they took notice of a very small chink in the bottom row of bricks. At first, it was only one or two and I didn’t worry too much about it. But since we have got back from our vacation in early August, there have been dozens  flying in and out of that tiny hole. I really don’t know how they all squeezed into that hole; perhaps their entrance led into some larger area in the partitions of the garage. But their numbers were increasing like crazy.

                In my usual procrastination, I didn’t do anything about the wasps when I should have.  If they left me alone, I would leave them alone. They’re God’s creatures, too. But this week, the frenzy of wasps flying all around our front door couldn’t be ignored any longer. (A collection of wasps is only called a “group” but I think it should be a ”frenzy”.)

Somebody was going to be stung.

                That would be me.

On the very day (Tuesday) that I was planning to deal with the problem, as I was coming in, I was stung by one of the critters. Fortunately, I am not allergic to stings, but this one hurt like crazy especially at the first and did so for the rest of the day.

                It serves me right for putting off dealing with the problem,  especially much, much earlier, probably as far back as when I first noticed the first ones hovering around, checking out the real  estate values of the property.

                Once stung, I “leapt” into action, applying chemical warfare and then sealing the niche in the brick with a special compound meant to seal off and discourage insects. There are still one or two buzzing around, trying to figure out a way back in. Better late than never, I suppose.

                There is a sort of parable in this story.

                It is so easy to ignore those little one or two sins that creep into our lives. They don’t really cause us many problems. So, we put off dealing with the faults and poor choices that are buzzing around our lives.  The don’t seem too serious; we can manage them; maybe they will “fly” away.

                Yet, somehow, these little problems and small acts of sinfulness find tiny little chinks in our moral foundations and begin to nest there. Soon, before we know it, they begin to multiply and take up more space. And when we ignore that they are posing a threat to our behaviour, our thoughts, our actions they have lodged themselves more permanently than we could ever have imagined way back when.

                It becomes much harder to deal with such sinfulness. Eventually, we will get stung by Sin and its various aggressive, worker wasps. Jesus mentioned a few of these waspish characteristics when he said, “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” (Mark 7: 21 – 23, NLT)

                Then, we have to be very radical in our eradication of these things, sealing up the little chinks and crevices which   allowed such things to gain access into our lives to begin with. But it has to be done or we will get stung by the consequences and will pay the penalty of our neglect and experience the stinging pain of the costs of failure to deal with these traits.

                We are not alone in this challenge. God, especially in the presence of Jesus Christ, is on our side. God has given us spiritual guidance, moral strength  and clear direction as to how to deal with Sin and its stinging ways.

                “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Philippians 4: 8 – 9, The Message) 

Dale