Kicking Stuff Under the Dresser

The other day I was not feeling well. I'd had a slight fever the night before, and a lingering headache. Everything I did seemed to take more energy than usual, and I was tired.

As I was doing simple prep for an upcoming ministry night, I dropped a slip of paper on the floor in front of my dresser. I actually stood there for a moment debating whether I was going to bend over and pick it up, or kick it under the dresser.

It was a small piece of paper. The space under the dresser was ample to hide it. No one would know it was there except me, and since I am the one who cleans around here, it wouldn't really matter.

Except my husband walked in while I was debating, and asked if he could pick it up and throw it away for me.

[gulp]

Could he read my mind? Did he see my foot poised to kick it under the dresser? Or did he just innocently offer to serve me, knowing I wasn't feeling good- and now my prior debate was making me feel guilty? I was definitely going to pick it up and throw it away now. And act like that was my plan all along.

Have you ever had a similar thing happen in your spiritual life? You're faced with something that seems like it's not a big deal, and you don't feel like dealing with it, so you debate "kicking it under the dresser". No one else knows it's there. There's plenty of room to hide it. It's your spiritual space, right?

And then someone comes along and asks you about it. Brings your thoughts of glossing it over into the open. And you suddenly feel exposed, though they have no idea what is going on inside your head. So you act like you were planning to deal with that issue all along.

Let me just tell you from experience that it's never a good idea to 'kick it under the dresser', no matter what it is. Because kicking it under the dresser to hide it only works if the dresser will stay there indefinitely.

What happens when you move? All your 'kicking' gets exposed, and everyone sees your bad habit piled up against the wall. All the crumbs, hair, paper...whatever you didn't want to deal with in the moment has become an embarrassing pile of dirt. And now you have to deal with ALL of it at once.

Lord help me not to kick stuff under the dresser that I should be cleaning up. And help me to do it even when no one else is watching me!

Luke 11:39-40
(39) And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
(40) Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

Matthew 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.