Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature. -Colossians 3:5
Last night I killed some evil cousin of the earwig. I was ready for bed, with the lights out, and reached for my clock to set the alarm. The back of the clock was hard-shelled and wriggling. I dropped the clock, groping for the lamp switch. The splash of light revealed an upside down, inch-long bug, flailing all of its numerous limbs. Horrified, I reached for my pile of tissues, only to remember that I had just used the last one!
Torn between the desire to run to for toilet paper and the fear that this quick-moving creature might elude me in the time it took, I froze in indecision, loathing the squirming insect on my nightstand. I scanned for something lethal and grabbed my hardcover journal. By then the bug had righted himself and launched off the nightstand, scurrying into the crack behind my bed. I frantically yanked my bed away from the wall and whacked my journal down. I hit the bug, but it survived. After three more smacks it lay dead, its yellowish insides squished into my white carpet.
I sighed relief, but the sigh sucked a putrid stench to my nose. Apparently earwigs and stink bugs are related. I toilet-papered away the corpse, but the smell remained throughout the night, a slow-fading reminder of the encounter.
Sin is also related to these evil cousins. Life is less smelly if we ignore our failings, letting them thrive in the dark cracks of our lives, creeping behind our schedules, eating away our linen garments. But the Cross calls us to turn on the light, see sin for what it is, and kill it, even if the encounter leaves us feeling smelly.
What stinky sin bug is God calling you to kill today?
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