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Terror in the Tub
My story begins with a toddler (who shall remain nameless), playing happily in the tub when a biological phenomenon transpires of which the child is unaware. As the tubby time revelry continues, the product of this phenomenon floats to the surface and begins its course around the tub. Eventually, the tot becomes aware of the suspicious intruder. In an exercise of caution, she retreats to the far end of the tub and issues a tentative “Mommy!” Caught in the wake of the moving youngster, the unidentified aggressor initiates what can only be interpreted as a stalking maneuver. The bathtub becomes a small place as the child is out-maneuvered by the bobbing invader. The situation quickly reaches code red and hysterical “MOMMY’S” reverberate down the hall. Mother rushes in to see her child locked in desperate combat with the relentless little “doo-doo.”
I’m not sure what makes the story so funny, the fact that the child didn’t recognize a product of their “inner self”, or that they were unaware of producing their own nemesis. But when you stop and think of it, the tub may get larger as we get older, but the dynamics stays pretty much the same… and it losses its humor.
On a serious note, John Caldwell points out in his book, Intimacy With God, that society and even the church itself is in a state of dangerous decline. It’s also true that each of us bears responsibility. After all, what is society or the health of our churches but the collective sum of our inner selves? Caldwell emphasizes, “There is an urgent need for revival and spiritual awakening in our land, our church, and our lives. But it must begin with each of us individually as we seek personal, spiritual renewal through growth in the inner man.”
Well that sounds nice, but how does one go about changing inside? John offers principles to help us: First, we need to be aware that this is beyond human ability. Referring to Romans 8, we are advised to genuinely open our hearts to God’s Spirit.
Second, fill your life with what Caldwell calls, “positive goodness”, focus on the honorable things God sends your way, and let them rub off on you. “Thirdly,” John adds, “We need to realize that busyness is the enemy of spirituality or spiritual growth.” It’s easy to have the inner priorities pushed aside by outside urgencies. Scripture reading and prayer need to be an unbreakable habit.
So we follow these principles and we’re on our way, right? Right! But John issues one final principle in the form of a warning, “We must not… devolve into a legalistic system.”
The heart of the matter is: To change society we must each change our hearts. We can embrace an inner growth or grapple with our stinky little byproducts in this huge tub called post-modern society.
Like our toddler, we won’t find the latter option very appealing. I’m for “cleaning up the tub”, how about you? ~Pastor Kevin |
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