While recently listening to The Q 99.7FM,
I heard the words below. They were written by Brant Hanson as a parody song on people in an office/company setting who flagrantly leave their left-over food in the shared refrigerator.
“We’ve asked so nicely, O we’ve asked ten times,
We sent a memo, We send it office wide.
Tried to make it sound general,
O but it was all about you.
And your refusal to throw away that beef stew,
From 2007, it’s amazing it’s still here,
And we’re convinced now, it’ll never disappear.”
After reading the words above, it probably didn’t take you long to identify the person in your office or company who is the chief violator of this “horrible offense.” I had one person who immediately came to mind.
It happens at home too—you put some food away for another day and before you know it, it’s been three to four weeks and way past time to be edible—sour milk, soggy sandwich, moldy cheese, dessert hiding out in the very back of the fridge…
You probably have two thoughts when you stumble upon these things: YUCK!, and, will “they” every learn to throw their out of date food away and spare everyone else from such gross sights and smells?
In a similar way our spiritual life can be like a refrigerator with spoiled food in it that can slow us down, make us sick, and even kill us. Here are a few examples of things that can be gross, smelly, and harmful in our personal life, things we let hang around too long:
– toxic relationships
– old bad habits
– an “we’ve always done it this way” attitude
– plain old sin
– unbiblical philosophies
– hanging on to hurts and resentment with a bitter heart
– a selfish spirit
– stubbornness – a spirit unwilling to change
In Hebrews 12:1b we read,
“We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.”
Take some time now and ask God to help you identify and eliminate the spoiled, rotten, and out-dated attitudes and actions that are unhealthy for a follower of Christ. Our Heavenly Father’s plan is that we be a sweet smelling “aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15) to a world in great need.
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