That’s Not Sin, You Know

a Sonbeam from warren and mary beth powell

 

That’s not sin, you know. At least that’s what I think the Holy Spirit whispered to me this morning. I was checking to see if the garbage needed to be emptied (another of the things I get joy out of doing for Mary Beth), and I had opened the garbage bin.

 

I hesitated momentarily; after all, it was only 2/3 full, and while I was looking at it, well, that was when I heard that inner voice. He said, “That’s not sin, you know, Warren.” When I heard that, I stopped and listened.

 

“Many people think that sin is like garbage; that they have to wait until they have a lot of sin before they confess their wrongs. Or else, they wait until it really stinks. Sin is not like garbage. Sin has to be dealt with continually, because I cannot stand any of it.”

 

I hurriedly emptied our garbage and knew I had to go out to our front yard swing and share this with you. As I began to write, I learned there was more.   

 

“You see, what someone considers just a little bit of sin, well, to me…..that is a lot. And whether it smells or not isn’t important. It all brings a stench to my nostrils. Many people believe that unless their sin is at a certain level, it doesn’t need to be dealt with (like the garbage). But any sin is too much.

 

“I am here to help you. Whenever anyone asks me, I will always expose their sin to them. Here is why I do it:  Sin blocks and hinders my relationship with each of my children…..and that is one of the reasons I hate sin. I do not want anything to come between us. Sin gets in the way; therefore it has to be emptied out constantly. So see, garbage is not like sin.”

 

And now, for the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey):  While Warren was out front writing about garbage and sin, unknown to him, the following was happening in the kitchen to me (Mary Beth).

 

I was fixing our lunch---the plan was a couple of sandwiches. I had seen a package of lunchmeat in the refrigerator left over from the weekend. I had made a mental note to use it soon.  Rummaging through the meat/cheese drawer revealed a science experiment growing in our Swiss cheese---over the trash to throw it away!

 

Oh my, there’s a new trash bag…..that means Warren just emptied the trash and I’m going to put this spoiled stuff in here----it will get stinky soon. I really should walk this out to the outside trash can, but I don’t really want to go to all the trouble to take just this little bit out…..

 

You see, when garbage smells, everyone knows it is there. However, sin can be quietly subtle or internally rampant in a person’s life, all the while unseen to anyone else but God. He loves each of us…….and He can always tell the difference between our garbage and our sin.

 

Into His Word

“But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.” 1 John 1:7-10 Contemporary English Bible

 

 

©warren and mary beth powell  20050620   

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Sonbeams is a labor of love in progress, written in Henderson, TX, consisting of the simplicity of the Word of God or bits and pieces of everyday life through different eyes. We believe that many of us become so involved in the stuff of this world that we too often overlook and sometimes set aside the real values of life that count.   

 

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