Not As Clean As You Think
By Ronnie Wyatt
John the janitor was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.
Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back. Finally, the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Believe it or not, since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirrors in that school!
That story reminds me of a commercial that I saw recently that was designed to sell one of the latest new spray disinfectants. The commercial ends with the announcer saying, “You’re not as clean as you think.” You know, that is a truth that also applies to our lives. We are not as clean as we think.
It’s amazing how most of us think of ourselves as “good people.” The reason that we feel that way is because we have set our own standards of what we think “good” is. I mean let’s be honest. If we look hard enough we can find someone worse, meaner, and harder to get along with than we are. Compared to them, we are good. Do you know that God warns us about comparing ourselves to others? “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise”
(2 Corinthians 10:12).
We have to be careful of using our own definition of good. The truth is that God is the one who has set the standard of what is good. Let’s do a little test to see if you are good by God’s standard. Have you ever told a lie? Even if it was small, it was a lie to God. Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you? The size of the object is not important. Have you ever hated someone? Do you realize that God says, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1John 3:15).
Let’s see, according to God if you answered “Yes” to these what does that make you? Yes, we’re all liars, thieves, and murderers at heart; but guess what? There is good news! That’s what Jesus died on the cross for. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins! Do you need forgiveness today? Sure you do, we all do. Look at this promise, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38)
Place your trust in Jesus and receive the greatest gift of all, forgiveness!
Verse To Meditate On:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1
Ronnie Wyatt is an Evangelist, Author, Christian Comedian, Conference Speaker and the Executive Director of Crosseyed Ministries – www.crosseyedministries.com
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