Sin and a leaking toilet

As many of you know we bought a fixer upper home a little less than two years ago.  It is a wonderful home with, as they say in the business, good bones. However, that was a lot of fixing up to do.  Most of it was a matter of redecoration, but some things were a little more involved.

One of these was a toilet that would rock a little bit.  Now, I love a rocking chair as much as the next guy, but there are times I do not want my seat to rock.  The rocking was progressing and becoming more pronounced.  This manifestation convinced me that I needed to be proactive.  

As I began the process, I discovered that this symptom represented much deeper and more involved problems.  The rocking toilet was an outward manifestation of deeper problems.  The good news is the problem has been resolved.  However, it was not just a matter of wedging a penny under the edge of our porcelain bowl.  I will spare you the details, but I will say it was a job that required a lot of hard work.

As I worked on the project I began to think of it as a parable.  In our lives, and those we know, we often see the manifestation or the outward expression of more deep-seated issues.  We may see aggressive behavior without considering what is the root cause.  The passing sexual innuendo is noted without a thought of what is beneath.  The passion for comfort food is not associated with anything other than the taste we enjoy.

But what is on the surface often reflects something deeper within.  When we start looking deeper we find things we do not like or want to admit.  We realize that it is not just a short fuse, but a sinful, angry spirit or attitude that is the pattern for life.  The meaningless joke is not so meaningless because in our heart we really do believe we are better than others.  

Once we begin to pull back the facade we find there is a lot of hard work to be done to correct the problem.  We peel back one error and discover behind it something else and oftentimes something worse.  Dealing with the sin in our lives is not easy.  God will forgive us, but He respects us too much to violate our freewill and makes us want to be whole and righteous.  That partnership with God in our moving forward requires effort on our part. Sometimes it is hard work.

There is the option of ignoring the little issues of disobedience in our lives that may be indicators of deeper issues.  But, like a rocking toilet, it will only get worse and will one day collapse.  The difference is that having your toilet fall through the floor is a temporary disaster.   Falling through the practice of sin is more painful and can be eternally regretted.