Ed, my neighbour next door, accused me of smelling like old fashioned medicine. That left me confused as to whether my scent was good or bad. "Do I stink like a skunk or smell like aftershave?" I asked Ed.
"Neither one, more like horse powder from the vet," Ed said. "We used a powder for mange, a skin disease, when the horses were itchy and had patches of hair loss," he explained. "You sure smell like the powder we used on the horses." Then Ed asked, "Are you trying it for your baldness or do you have the mange?"
"The fact is," I explained, "sometimes, after I shower my skin is itchy. So, I bought some Gold Bond body powder. It says on the container that it will give triple action relief with cooling, absorbing and itch-relieving comfort. The most powerful thing about it is its pervasive smell: a combination of dirty socks and tooth-filling compound from a dentist office. Our cats think that it is a first cousin to catnip and sniff any dropped Gold Bond powder with glazed eyes and rapt attention."
"At least I don't have to watch you scratching like a chicken in the yard because you have your itch powder. The smell should keep the mosquitoes away," Ed said.
"I wish," I answered. "They seem to be attracted to anyone, no matter how they look or smell. Mosquitoes pester everyone as they are just like sins," I said. As soon as I mentioned sin, Ed made his exit like I was an angry skunk in front of him.
Any mention of sin can make some people scarce, while others stop listening like they are hearing an unknown foreign language. Folks can get real vocal about the sins of others who offend them, but generally, talk of sin is as popular as hearing about an outbreak of lice in sheep herds in Australia.
Ed has told me often that sin happens and mostly it don't matter unless you get caught in your sin. He added that when people are caught, they can usually make excuses or find a way to give their sin another name. I once asked Ed if he is indifferent to sin when it bites him. He said, "I guess it depends on how bad it bites me and how often I get bit by it."
Our sin bites God as well as us. The Bible speaks of sin as stealing, defrauding and robbing your neighbour, holding back the wages of a hired man. It is a sin to seek revenge, bear a grudge, hate another in your heart, spread slander and share nothing of what you have for the poor. Sin is to fail to love your neighbour as yourself. It is to fail to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
I say sin is like you and I in an area swarming with mosquitoes. In life, we will get bitten by sin. Our need is to try not to get bitten by what God warns us about. Thankfully, we can show our sin bites to God and get relief of their itch through the power of Christ.
