In the Trash

When I took out the trash last week, I had to walk carefully because of the sleet and ice on the ground. I rounded the corner of my house, walking down the gentle slop that leads to the spot where we store our trash cans. The sleet crunched under my feet, but didn't cause much problem until I was halfway down the hill. The sleet had apparently melted and refrozen in the shadow of our house. My tennis shoes became a size ten bobsled as I slid about fifteen feet down the hill. Fortunately, I slid all the way down without falling, grabbing one of the trash cans and performed a perfect three point stop. If there was an Olympic event for skating with trash bag in hand, I would have scored a perfect ten. Well, at least nine.

After depositing my trash and congratulating myself on a perfectly executed triple axel, I realized a new problem. I had no way to get back up the hill. My tennis shoes had absolutely no grip on the ice, and there was nothing to grab in order to pull myself up the hill. After wondering how long it would be until the spring thaw, I managed to pull myself along the fence to my neighbors house where I could grab their wall and pull myself back up the hill.

My midwinter adventure taught me yet another lesson about sin. The slope doesn't look so steep or slippery from the top of the hill, but don't be fooled. Give in to temptation, and sooner or later you wind up in the trash can. The good news is, God provides a way out.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Look for the way out, and remember, it's much easier to find at the top of the hill!