Day 27: Garbage Disposal

2 Corinthians 7:1: (KJV) “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

One of the constants on the JFK is the routine announcement about trash. There are several loud shrills of the boatswain’s pipe, followed by the pronouncement: “Take all trash to the appropriate waste processing station.” We cannot survive on the JFK if we don’t continuously get rid of all garbage. I have visited our onboard waste processing stations, and it is not a pretty sight. There is some trash that is easy to get rid of, and there is some that is more difficult to destroy. Thus, we are required to separate trash into three categories: paper, plastic, and metal. They are then processed—heated and melted, stacked and pressed—and then dumped over the side.

To uncover and gather trash is essential, but the Christian must go further. We must find a way to dispose of the sin we discover and must do this each day. Some are easy to get rid of. Like paper we can easily toss out, we have things in our lives that we can simply stop doing. Then there are habits that are more like plastic—we’ve practiced them for some time and they’re hard to break. We need assistance in getting rid of them. And there are behavior patterns that are even more difficult to control, that seemed to have been passed down from generation to generation. Some things are like metal—quite challenging to let go. We must not only keep these things away from us, we must throw them over the side. Ask God:

Help me to discover and then dump those things you don’t like about me,
Sins that go against your nature, that brings shame to all Christianity,
You’ve given me the will, the strength, a better person to always be,
That feat was accomplished, in full, way back on Calvary’s tree.

Questions to Consider:

• What have I done to keep myself clean before God and humankind?
• Have I done enough? Can I do more?

Reflection for the Day:

• Consider the joy of uncovering and disposing of sins that weight us down.