Garbage Disposal

Garbage Disposal
James 1.19-21
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

It is almost always difficult for us to accept that we have garbage in our lives. I do not merely mean that we recognize our imperfections and flaws, but that we do not actually take the steps to correct them. You see, that is the difficult thing about Christianity. Jesus says in Matthew 15.11 that "[w]hat goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean." It is a painful, gruesome process to purge sin from our hearts. It's easier to just keep things the way they are. That is not what God's Word instructs us to do, however. James says in James 1.21 that we should "get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in [us], which can save [us]." Most of us do not think to actively work to purge sin from our hearts. That is likely because we have misinterpreted what Christ's removal of sin means. You see, we are correct in that Christ is the only one who can remove sin from us, but we are certainly in the wrong if we believe this is a background, involuntary process such as the beating of a heart, that requires no input or effort on our part.

No, if we are to be cleansed, we must actively seek it. We must say, "Lord, what is it that is hindering me from you? What evil in my heart needs to be removed?" When we do that, the Holy Spirit will convict us of wrong in our attitudes, words, and deeds. Let me be clear, however, that this removal does not somehow remove sin in the sense of being forgiven from sin. Yes, the sin of the world was removed by Christ's death and resurrection, but we can actively choose to participate in it even as believers. Yes, Christ forgives us(He's already forgiven us even for the sins we haven't yet committed), but that does not mean we should wait until our lives fall apart to discover how the sin in our hearts is rotting us and causing spiritual decay and neglect.

The Lord will clean us in a number of ways, but we must ask Him for help. We must be honest with ourselves and admit what we know is in our hearts. We should reflect on the state of our spirit each day to see if we are pleasing the Lord. 2 Corinthians 13.5 says for us to "[e]xamine [ourselves] to see whether [we] are in the faith; test [ourselves]. Do [we] not realize that Christ Jesus is in [us]--unless, of course, [we] fail the test?" Beloved, spend each day asking God how your heart can be cleansed. This can occur through prayer, the active, continual study of God's Word, fellowship with others, and an honest evaluation of our hearts. If your heart needs cleansing today, come to the Great Maid--the one who has wiped all our spots away. Allow Jesus to cleanse your heart today! Amen.

With love in Christ,



Austin Aldrich