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J.: Would you please remember to put the garbage out? Tomorrow is pickup day.
H.: Why does it always have to be me to put out the garbage?
J.: Because it is the man's job. [Wow! J. actually got away with that comment!]
Perhaps H. was thinking that there was lots more room in the bin, so it can wait. At times, anger would lift its ugly head in the conversation. How many of us have had a similar conversation before the garbage made it to the curb, or how many times did we get reminded? How much cleaner and less smelly it is when the garbage does not hang over to another week to become overflowing and very unpleasant-smelling.
Now H. has passed on, and I confess that I am "J." in the conversation. I am not a man, but I must put out the garbage nevertheless. Do I regret the nagging? You bet I do!
Likewise, Jesus wants us to put out the garbage of sin, all of us. No one else can do it for us. If we try to say we have no sin, we are just kidding ourselves. We must not think that our sins are trivial or not enough to confess, since a sin is a sin whether the bin is full or not.
1 John 1:8-10 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (NKJV)
Ephesians 5:1-2 – Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (NKJV)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us — human beings who often treat each other with unfair expectations and not in love as You would have us do. May we learn from You and not get disturbed and angered over things that do not really matter. May we confess our sins to You on a regular basis and not let them build up inside of us to overflowing. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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