I must confess that I made a mistake Monday while preparing the pie crust for the quiche. I’m lazy when it comes to measuring certain things like salt and spices. Why dirty up all those tiny measuring spoons? Just sprinkle a little in. Well, that didn’t work so well on Monday. I tried to add the salt without measuring and dumped too much in the bowl. I realized immediately that it was too much and scooped most of it out, but I tasted the dough after mixing, and it was still too salty. I thought it might not be too bad once it was filled with the egg mixture, but I couldn’t get that salty taste out of my mouth while I was putting the crust in the pie plate, so I put all the dough back in the bowl. I added more flour and milk and mixed it up again. It was good enough for the quiche, but now I had leftover pie dough that was too salty to eat. (Yes, my children and I enjoy eating raw pie dough, bread dough, cookie dough, etc.)
I tried adding sugar, but I could still taste the salt. I added some vanilla, but that didn’t cover the saltiness either. I continued adding things to try and make it edible, but it was still too salty. I ended up with a modified cookie dough (complete with butter, more sugar, ground flax seed, and oats) that was edible, but I still knew there was salt in it.
As I tasted it for the upteenth time, I realized sin is a lot like that salt. Sin doesn’t belong in our lives. It causes problems, creates discomfort, and even a small amount can throw off the balance in our lives. We can add good things, even great things, but sin is still there. We can do good deeds, read our Bible, participate in a mission trip, serve in our church, and still have unconfessed sin preventing us from having a close relationship with God. Our efforts to try to hide it or cover it up are all in vain. There is nothing we can do to remove the sin except to seek God’s forgiveness and allow Him to cleanse us.
What I should have done was throw out the leftover pie crust dough. It didn’t benefit me (in fact, it probably added another inch to my hips!). That tainted dough only tempted me and cost me money as I used more and more ingredients to try to salvage it.
In the same way, we should confess and repent of sin as soon as we recognize it in our lives. We shouldn’t waste time or energy trying to cover it up or excuse it. Call sin what it is and remove it completely, so you can enjoy what matters most: your relationship with God.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Chronicling Chaos 