For example, my oven has needed to be cleaned for months. okay really, who has time for that? And as long as it really doesn't get dirty then what's the point right? Needless to say, that wasn't the case for my poor oven. Thanks to the cinnamon rolls.
Yes, the "cinnamon rolls". Also known as my famous "Disney" cinnamon rolls (I've blogged about them in the past....haha...these are made from scratch using the "official" recipe from the old Main Street confectionary shop). I digress....anyway, for my sister's wedding decided to make her the cinnamon rolls because they are her absolute favorite (and why wouldn't they be considering there is literally a pound of butter involved). Well as tasty as they were, that sticky, gooey, melty mess baked on and burnt hard onto the bottom of my oven. Instead of cleaning the mess immediately, when it was probably a whole lot easier, I am cleaning it now...when it's ten times harder.
Why almost a month later you ask? It's not like I actually forgot about it...no, no...that mess nagged me incessantly. Especially every time I used my oven which is daily...if not multiple times a day. However, it was a job I didn't want to do. I just didn't feel like dealing with it, despite how much of a "neat-freak" I am deemed. I mean, when it came to house cleaning it was a whole lot easier to vacuum and dust every room in the house from top to bottom and just close the oven doors....no one sees it, right?
So the oven...that filthy oven...Like in our lives, we can clean up specific areas over and over again and unless we go clean out that dumb oven, we still have a messy oven. We can wear the carpets out from vacuuming and make the bathrooms spick-and-span to the point of eating off the floor (although I do not advocate that being a good idea)! But if we just close the oven door, that mess will just bake on more and be more difficult to get rid of later. And we will constantly be reminded that it needs to be tended to because every time we go to use it, it will cause a burning stench to permeate throughout the rest of the house. Do I even really need to break this down anymore? Probably not...I know we get it.
But it's more than just getting it. Psalms 19:14 is a verse that echoes in my head all of the time. I can talk well, but like my oven...there are areas in my life that need some tending to. It's not about being good or bad...about my conversation or how I love people (or don't but need to)...it's more than that. There is a bigger picture. There is more at stake. I don't want to be one that just pays lip service. I want my words and my heart to reflect my actions and I want to hear well done my faithful one. And while I know He is a good and loving God, I also know that He requires more. He doesn't want us to neglect any area in our life...because not only will it cause issues for us, but consider what impact it may play in the lives of the generations to come. I don't want to be the one who screws that all up...that's for sure.
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