My Office Smells Like Apples!

I have a little refrigerator in my office that I haven’t used in awhile, so when I opened it up today I was surprised to find a bag of apples in there.  I had obviously forgotten about them, and they were in a mild state of decay – and they smelled.

Their smell is strong.

So, I took them out of the fridge and let the fridge air out for a bit.  That was not a good idea because now my office smells like apples!

It’s amazing how something that is in the process of rotting and decaying can make everything around it stink.

It reminds me of sin.

Sin stinks!

Seriously.

Think about it: since all sin is inspired by worldly desires instead of God’s will, and since all things attached to this world is in some state of rotting, decaying, or dying, then it stands to reason that sin would foul things up for anyone it touches.  But sin does more than that because it doesn’t just affect the person who sins; it negatively impacts any and all of its surroundings.

Just like those apples in my office.

This is why James 1:21 tells us to “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.”

If I just would have gotten rid of those apples before they spoiled, I wouldn’t be sitting in an “apple stench” right now.

But eventually that stench will go away.

The stench and stain of sin is harder to get rid of, but it can be done.  James says that.

But will we follow his advice?

Sin doesn’t just stink – it destroys.  It destroys relationships, reputations, peace, joy, and the list goes on and on.

And it doesn’t just go away by itself.

We have to get rid of it, which means that we must intentionally turn away from it and anything that enables it.

We must turn to God and accept his Word, relying on God’s power over sin.

If we do that, we can be saved from sin’s destructive nature.

And our lives won’t carry the stench of sin anymore.

Wouldn’t that be nice?