Why bother?

Note: Post written on 20 May 2010

Why bother cleaning when you know that the place will get dirty in the next minute? This was the thought I had as I gathered the children for the weekly spring cleaning. Cambodia is very dusty during the dry season. Logic tells me that the effort to clean the place will be wasted. But God showed me interesting insight about keeping the place clean in relation to our spiritual walk and I just want to share it with you.

Let's imagine, what happen if we allow the dust and dirt to accumulate? The house will look terrible after months. What about the people who live in the house? Sickness (ie: asthma, hygiene related sickness etc) will come knocking at our door. The worst is that we may find these sicknesses a threat to our lives.

It is the same with our spiritual life. Many of us desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord. However, there are times we find that it is just so hard and may think that "I will never measure up to the standard of God, so why bother?", and we allow bad habits to take root and when it is full bloom, it became a stronghold that stunted our spiritual being.

God didn't expect us to attempt holy living overnight. What He is interested is the daily yielded-ness to Him. Just like how we would do the daily cleaning to keep the house clean. We will never measure up if we chose to do it our ways. It is only by coming to Him that we are able to walk in victory (even in our time of weakness).

Hebrews 4:15-16 says:
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Getting the children to clean the house is not that they have nothing else better to do, or just for the sake of keeping the house. But rather it is a discipline for them. Discipline doesn't happen overnight. It takes a period of time, repeating a task again and again until it becomes part of us. So it is with our spiritual walk.

If we think that we have failed in overcoming certain temptations or weaknesses, the key is not to feel condemn about it, but it is to come to the throne of grace with repentance. This will be a continuous process, and we will find each day that our lives are being transformed as according to His will.

Let's us be encouraged to live for Him even in times of weakness.