We have a slight mold problem in
our front bathroom. Well, it started out as a slight problem and slowly became
a slightly bigger problem. I tried all the natural remedies I knew, baking
soda, vinegar, lemons, borax, nothing worked, so finally I agreed to let my
husband go get a "real" cleaner (the no-so-natural and sorta
deadly kind) and have a go at it.
And clean he did! He scrubbed the tile right off
the wall. Apparently the wall behind the tile is completely rotted away. He
thinks it's been this way since before we moved in. It appears that someone in
the past just put layers of white caulking over the edges of the tub it to make
it look clean rather than dealing with the very obvious rotting problem.
We might have noticed before now that there was a
deeper problem, but I kinda think we were in denial. We were just so excited
about having a real shower (our last house just had a tub, no shower) that
we didn't mind that it was in less than pristine condition.
I recommended that we just superglue the tiles back up on the wall
and go on about our business. I mean as long as it looks cleaner who cares what's
going on behind those tiles! However, my husband has decided it would be best
to actually repair the wall first. Go figure!
This afternoon as I was sitting and contemplating
how we were going to function for the next week or so without any sort of shower
or bathtub, I was reminded of the passage in Matthew when Jesus tells the
scribes and Pharisees they are like whited sepulchers "which
indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones"
(Matthew 23:27). The religious leaders were hypocrites who maintained an
outward appearance of obedience to the law, while managing to avoid what Jesus
calls the "weighter matters" of judgment, mercy, and faith. They
maintained an outward appearance of cleanliness, but inside they were
rotting away.
(Of course, my bathroom doesn't really maintain an outward
appearance of cleanliness, but you get the idea)
Now, I hate to admit this, but sometimes I find myself on the
Pharisiacal side of the fence. It's easy for me to see a spiritual problem in
my life (sin, worry, lack of compassion, love of money), and
instead of dealing with the problem, I just glue a superficial excuse over it
and go on about my business.
I would be more generous if I had more money. I wouldn't worry so much if I didn't have so much going on right now.
I would have more compassion if people in Wal-Mart weren't so annoying.
The problem with this is pretty obvious. When you make excuses for
sin, you eventually end up with a big rotten mess that takes a lot of time and
effort to clean-up. This is probably why Paul warns us in Colossians 3 to
put to death the things of the flesh "fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which
is idolatry" and to put off "anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and
filthy communication" (vs. 5, 8). We have to root those things out so we
can replace them with the good, sturdy foundation of love, mercy, and
faithfulness that God has chosen for his beloved children.
So while my husband will be spending the next few
days clearing our bathroom of mold and rottenness, I think I'll stick to
rooting out sin and selfish excuses.
It will do me good. Plus, I'm not that great at home improvement projects anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment