Corrosion

We just got back from visiting family in Houston. We had a good time, but the drive home seemed to be unusually long and arduous. I went to bed very early last night, and got up rather early this morning for a men's prayer meeting at our church. I started my car ('95, Ford Contour named Lilly) and backed it out of the driveway. My car died and wouldn't start so I took my wife's car.

I came back home after the prayer meeting and lifted Lilly's hood only to find that one of the battery terminals was quite corroded. I cleaned the end with some baking soda mixed with water (tip: any carbonated beverage will do in a pinch, but it makes you think--if that stuff eats battery corrosion, what is it doing to my insides?) and a wire brush. After a short jump, she was g2g. I took her to the twilight zone and had a load test put on the battery, and it held up fine.

Why do I tell you this story? It highlighted two needs that I have in my life. The need to take preventative measures and the need to deal with the sin.

Take Preventative Measures:
The first lesson here is to take the proper preventative measures to avoid the corrosion in the first place. If I had regularly checked the battery terminals and cleaned them at the first sign of corrosion, this problem could have been avoided. In the same way, we must deal with sins that slowly corrode our lives. The writer of Hebrews (Appollos, in my estimation) speaks of these sins as weights in our race for Christ that easily entangle us (ESV "clings so closely"). These weights are not necessarily outright sins, but activities that distract us from the race (e.g. TV, Video Games, sleep, friends). These become sins as they distract us from our goal. We have to keep a constant check on these and many other areas of our lives in order to keep them in balance.

Deal with the Sin:
The unfortunate reality is that despite preventative measures, we still stumble and fall. We regularly allow sin to build up in our hearts. Unconfessed and not dealt with, this sin creates a blockage between us and our God. It may not seem to be such a big problem. Afterall, it is only a little bit of corrosion. What harm can that do? James makes it very clear that sin starts out in the deceitfulness of our own hearts. This lust gives birth to sin which ends in death, which is in my estimation physical as well as spiritual. The sin may not seem to be a big deal at first, but it can become a much bigger problem which results in destruction on every level. It is important to take measures to deal with sin in its earliest forms before the damage is more severe. The steps are repentance and confession followed by a renewed godward vision. We must regularly check our lives to ensure that we do not allow this corrosion to grow into a debilitating sin that renders us useless.

I've brought up several issues that should be flushed out in greater detail, but they will have to wait for a subsequent post.

Happy New Year to all.

cmw