I had not thought about the correlation of taking out the trash and living the spiritual life. It just never occurred to me that the "feel good" feeling I get when I realized that the trash has been taken out was so freeing.
The evenings I come home after taking the trash out, I almost smile. I think how wonderful all of that gunk and junk is out of my house. It's almost a feeling of complete freedom!
And then... this morning, God put a picture in my head.
How wonderful it is when we clean out our temple of the gunk and junk that piles up. It's so freeing to be rid of bitterness, envy, strife, gluttony, pride, lust, anger, greed and laziness.
And then... I also realized that I would have to take the trash out again next week because it will be full again. Just like those sins. We must continually "take out the trash" in our temples. The sins just keep piling up, like trash. But that trash needs to be dealt with each day.
Mental picture...trash can with lid. When I start feeling one of the 7 deadly sins, I just mentally open that trash can and throw the feeling away. If I continually hold on to it, it will become rancid...and stink...and grow moldy and trash the temple that God has freely given me.
Who knew taking out the trash could be so freeing?
Ecclesiastes 10:1 "As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor."
