Filthy Floors

She wore a dusk mask on her face and held a leaf blower in her hand, which she was employing – quite ingeniously – to clean the filthy floors of the building. The halls were massive and dirty and filled with trash. Cleaning them was a long, thankless, never-ending job. Her idea was efficient and creative and…..and a disaster!

What seemed like a good idea, in reality, produced a more massive mess than the one she was trying to clean. Yes, the dirt was off the floor, but it was now on the lockers, the desks, the tables, and the people, who were sneezing and coughing and choking. Eyes were watering and after school tutorials were disrupted. Finally, one brave soul kindly suggested that using the leaf blower, instead of the push broom, might not be the best way to clean up the mess.

Even though the efficiency and creativity of her idea were laudable, her solution to the problem made those around her miserable. Teachers couldn’t tutor, students couldn’t concentrate, and no one could breathe. The noise of allergic reactions rivaled the noise from the leaf blower.  She needed to stop, and she did. At once. Bless her heart. And then she once more began to sweep, a harder and more tedious process but one that eliminated the filth without hurting other people.  

I haven’t made use of a leaf blower to get rid of the dirt in my life, but I’ve definitely tried to take short cuts. I’ve also tried pretending there wasn’t any dirt. There have been times when I’ve looked at mistakes I’ve made, the debris I’ve left behind, the things that needed cleaning up, and the people I’ve hurt in the process, and I’ve wished there was an easier way to deal with it all. But the reality is until I follow the wise example of the cleaning lady and immediately stop when I realize what I’m doing is wrong , I’m just making a bigger mess than before. Until I stop trying to circumvent the problem, it won’t go away. Until I stop doing it my way and start doing it God’s way again, the dirt doesn’t disappear. And when I stop immediately, that happens even faster. And fewer people are hurt.  

When my sweet husband wakes up, he’s going to read this and say I’m preaching again! My response will be that I’m talking to myself. I’ve had a messy week!

"If we confess our sins,

he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"

(1 John 1:9 KJV).