OPD

Other Peoples Dirt. Occasionally i get to clean a foreclosed home. It is so sad to me. There are bits and pieces of the lives that once lived in that home and I wonder about them. I might find a brightly painted room, or flowers in a vase still in a bathroom. Once there was a huge glass jar filled with colorful cigarette cartons( decor??), and a huge beer bottle sculpture (fine art?) .Once there were steak knives sticking out of the garage wall like someone had been playing darts. But the worst is the dirt. Now don't get me wrong. My house is FARFARFAR from where it ought to be. Homemaking doesn't come naturally to me so every step is an uphill battle, however, I do fight it, because it's worth it. Nevertheless, messing around with other peoples dirt is something else entirely. I usually feel as if it has seeped into my pores. Many of these homes are nasty beyond belief. I don't believe the bathrooms were EVER cleaned in some , but sometimes it's a fairly clean house ,it's just that a little yuck was left there, and over a period of time it blossomed (ugh!!) This got me thinking. How many times are we wallowing in someone elses filth. Their sin. As I have learned in those homes, a little bit of OPD goes a long way toward making everything on me stink. A little bit of someones gossip about another will sit on us and just fester...sin in someone elses life that we let into ours for whatever reason might seem to be okay at first , but like in those houses, it blossoms into something much bigger...it's not always a lot of "dirt" but the end result is the same. Don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about bearing someones burden by praying for them, or helping someone in need. I'm talking about digging into and spreading the news of someone elses problems and or sins. "Did you know...." " They Really need prayer, this is a BIG problem with them, in their past they...." THAT kind of digging into peoples sins!! Maybe it's our own "dirt" we need to have cleaned. That little sin, that seems so inconsequential right now can wreak havoc in our lives later on. No sins are little to God. The neat thing is. God made bleach!! Okay, I use clorox bleach on those places and have found it's the only thing that works. Just dump it on and it starts working, right away. God has own kind of bleach. It's the blood of His Son, Jesus. It can wash the nastiest of sins from anyone.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2Corinthians 7:1 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.
There's just one catch.... we have to be willing to LET it be cleaned. Just like the Realtor has to allow me to go in and do whatever needs to be done, we have to allow the Lord to do whatever it takes to clean us up too!!