I’m at war. My home has been invaded by an insidious little creature. I didn’t even notice its initial appearance. In fact, even after I saw the potential signs, I ignored them, preferring ignorance. It wasn’t until the first full-fledged attack that I finally took note, but by then it had become a full out war.
Fleas…I have fleas. In some ways, I mean that quite literally. You see my cats have fleas, but my cats all live indoors, so where did said fleas come from? Apparently….me. I brought in the little devils unaware. Now we are all paying for it.
I went to the vet to discuss options as money is a definite issue, and I have 3 cats. Still, if nothing else, I needed to take care of their health first. The vet gave me an informational handout on how to deal with a flea infestation. It is a 3-pronged attack strategy: cats, house/bedding, and yard. First, I put flea medication on all 3 cats, which is a story in and of itself. Then, I had to spray the house, which involved keeping me and the cats away from the mist and vapor and letting it settle for 2 hours, which is also another story for later. I would spray the yard, but it has been raining every day, and I’m hoping they have all drowned. After the mist settled, I cleaned the house, and I mean cleaned the house. I have washed, dusted and vacuumed basically every surface in my house, twice. The sad thing is….they could come back.
It occurred to me that temptation and sin work much the same way. It sneaks up on us if we are not paying attention, and then it insinuates itself in our soul, much like a flea in the carpet. It is difficult to root out and has a tendency to replicate at an astounding rate. The 3-pronged strategy has applications here as well. First, you treat the main infestation, which is your soul under attack. Then, you have to clean up the house, your body. Finally, you have to protect your environment.
However, all of this could have been prevented if I had not believed that it couldn’t happen to me. Temptations are all around us, so we must be vigilant and keep our defenses up. Ephesians chapter 6 gives us the spiritual armor that we need to protect ourselves: the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, feet shod with peace, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit (Word of God), and the shield of faith. If we put these on daily, then we are prepared to fight any temptation that comes our way. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cures…especially when you’re dealing with sin…or fleas.