No Denying the Smell

Su and I spent our Saturday afternoon fixing a toilet. We fixed the same toilet last weekend. Apparently our solution didn't do the trick. We could tell that we still had a problem on Sunday evening by a distinct odor that we both tried to ignore until at least Tuesday.

Please understand: I am not a lead handyman kind of guy. I am more of the "I-will-hold-the-light-and- pass-you-the-tools" kind of weekend warrior. I blame my father for this. He trained me well in light-holding and tool-passing. In fact, he trained me so well that, once, when I was carrying on my normal role, I was asked if I had a union card.

A lesser man than me would have been insulted.

Still, at a certain point in life, you have to quit looking around for someone else to fix the problem. This point comes much quicker when the problem involves certain odors which you simply cannot deny. The need to create a solution is further accelerated when the subject of "the smell" becomes the main topic of conversation with your wife.

There is no getting around it - life is going to hand us a certain amount of, uh, poopy problems. We would like to avoid them. We look for wise counsel that would help us avoid slipping into them. However, to paraphrase a common saying, life happens.

When we find ourselves in those kind of situations, no amount of positive thinking is going to help. The last thing we need is for someone to tell us everything is okay when our eyes are watering and we can no longer catch our breath. Trust me, when it comes to believing your nose or words, your nose is always going to win.

Unfortunately, we do not seem to have the same innate instinct when it comes to spiritual issues.

In Jeremiah, God's people found themselves "up-to-their-noses." Those who were not killed had been taken off into captivity. There should have been no denying they were in very deep water.

Still, the false prophets continued to tell them that everything was okay. They would soon be back in Jerusalem. In essence they were saying,"I know it stinks so bad your eyes are watering. However, everything really is fine."

These were men who abused their power. They are described in Jeremiah 23:10 this way: "Their course is evil, and their might is not right"(ESV). They helped those who did evil instead of calling on them to repent (23:14,22). They filled people with false hope, telling them they wouldn't suffer any harm (23:16,17).

The last thing we need when there is no longer an ability to deny the stink around us is false hope. We need the truth.

Jeremiah wrote a letter to his relatives in captivity and said, "The message of these prophets is like straw. God's Word is like wheat. You decide which you will choose. However, remember God's Word is like a hammer - capable of breaking rocks into small pieces" (23:28,29).

When not actively engaging in "smell denial" this week, I watched a bit of news. 72 people were tied up and shot in Mexico - they refused to pay the men extorting them. The unemployment rate in the U.S. crept up again. While the unemployment rate went up, the largest human trafficking ring to ever be discovered in the States resulted in charges against six people.

It might be time for us to recognize how bad the odor has become and pay attention to some truth-telling. It might be time to get back to God's Word.