“As he that walks in slippery places is … liable to fall, he can’t foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once, without warning.”
Jonathan Edwards
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Frog in Hot Water
Have you heard the metaphor of the frog in boiling water? It’s been making the rounds in media lately. The idea is that if you throw a frog in boiling water, it will immediately jump out, but if you put it in tepid water and slowly turn up the heat, it will eventually be boiled to death. Science says this isn’t really true and that a frog will eventually jump out when it gets hot enough. The question then becomes when is it hot enough?
For example, today my computer was cranky and slow. Programs kept freezing and my writing software kept telling me that it couldn’t find the file I wanted. I was getting more frustrated by the moment. Finally, I hit the restart button. Of course, I had to fight through getting a few programs to close to accomplish it. Then, it decided it needed to download an update. Eventually, it let me log back in, and it is working like it should. I think we can take an example from my computer and the children of Israel and take a moment to hit the reset button, spiritually speaking, before the water gets too hot.
Confession
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.
Nehemiah 9:2-3
The children of Israel had rediscovered the books of the law. Ezra had been reading it to them and explaining as he went. It didn’t take long for them to figure out they were not where they were supposed to be. They got out of the hot water by confessing their sins and worshiping God. Now they still had to deal with the consequences of what they had done, but there was joy in a right relationship with God. They were back on the right track.
Remembrance
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
Nehemiah 9:16-17
The priests reminded the people of all the great things God had done, and they reminded the people of all the ways the people had sinned and the consequences of their sins. But, they also reminded them of God’s grace and mercy. He was willing to forgive when they were willing to repent. When we take a moment to remember the goodness of the Lord, it gives us a better perspective. It reminds us of why we followed Him in the first place. It reminds us to be grateful of all we have been given. When remember what it is like to walk closely with God, we want to return to His side.
Ounce of Prevention
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Benjamin Franklin
When we find ourselves in hot water, it’s good to realize where we are and get out. Still, it would have been better if we hadn’t gotten in the pot in the first place. Ben Franklin was right: an ounce of prevention will do us more good than a cure because it means we avoided the problem to begin with or caught it early enough that it was easy to repair.
Take for instance my cat Meep who just interrupted my writing for the umpteenth time this morning. I realized that she was shedding and was trying to get me to get rid of the loose hairs that were annoying her. I should have brushed her earlier. Recently, I had to deal with a lot of unpleasant incidents related to said hair loss because I wasn’t brushing her at all. She was a short-hair, so I thought she didn’t really need it. Prevention (brushing her) could have kept me from a lot of sleep deprivation and clean up.
The same is true of our spiritual life. If we confess our sins daily, it keeps our hearts soft and our ears clear so that we can hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. It helps keep us on the right track because when we let “little” sins build up, it sets us on a slippery slope. As Jonathan Edwards said, we don’t know when we will slip and fall, but it is going to happen eventually. If we avoid the slippery paths, then we will be less likely to trip and fall.
The Cure
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
If we confess our sins, He will forgive us. He will help us to live right lives. When we stray from the path or fall down, He picks us back up and sets us on the right path. If we make confession a daily practice, it will cut down on the number of falls. In a sinful world, falls are inevitable, but we have the cure. The cure is the grace and mercy of God. They are new each day and available to all who ask.
So, how hot is too hot? Let’s choose wisely and try to stay out of the pot altogether. In the long run, prevention is cheaper than the cure.
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Always a blessing Ms. Linda. Thank you ma’am; and God’s blessings.