Kill the Swill

Sometimes my fridge is like a black hole—things go in, and seemingly never come out. But just like the truth always comes out, the bad stuff always gets cleaned out of the fridge--sooner or later. The day of cleaning could be be a science lesson on decomposition and mold growth, and it's never pretty. There have been times someone has haplessly opened a container, and before they could slap the lid closed, the smell had permeated the kitchen.

Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever been around when someone popped open their mouth and, before you could turn away, has the stench enveloped you, making you wish for fresh air? (And I'm not talking about bad breath here! I'm talking about swill from their life or their attitude.) Have you ever done that yourself? Times when you've opened your lid and suddenly smelled a stench and before you could slam your lips closed, has the stench permeated the room? I've done that and it's horrible and embarrassing.

So, what can I do to prevent that from happening?

**Don't even put some of those things in the fridge! Toss them out.
“There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
~Proverbs 6:16-19

**Clean out the fridge more often so things don't spoil in there and get to stinking like that.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” ~Psalm 139:23-24

**Put good things in the fridge of your life.
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” ~Philippians 4:8

**Make sure to put an open box of baking soda in your fridge to absorb the unwanted smells.
“Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.”
~Psalm 119:11
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” ~Philippians 2:3-4

Just like we don't want a fridge full of spoiled food, we don't want our lives to be full of rottenness. We need to clean out the swill and make room for the fresh produce God wants to put in our lives, produce that can feed and bless those around us.

So, what's in your fridge?

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Shelf Life

Food has a shelf life, and some food has a very short shelf life and needs to be used in a timely manner or it goes bad. There have been times I've put a beautiful head of leaf lettuce in my fridge and when I finally got around to using it, it was no longer beautiful. The leaves had lost their crispness, had wilted and some had even turned black. Sounds appetizing doesn't it? Sure, sometimes I can salvage part of the head if I do it right when I pull it out of the bag and strip off the spoiled leaves and carefully wash the rest. There are even times when I completely miss it and the lettuce totally ruins—there's no salvaging to be done, it all goes into the compost.

God puts things in our lives to be used for His glory and some of those things have a shelf life. If we don't use them in a timely manner they 'go bad' and may no longer be available for our use. God may bring a person into our lives so we can be a witness to them, but if we delay, we may loose our window of opportunity. When that window closes, we miss out on the blessing we would receive from using that opportunity and others miss out because we didn't make something of the opportunity, the ingredient, God gave us.

I don't think there's many of us that like seeing food spoil in our fridge, but do we even stop and think about things in our lives that are going to waste? Gifts, and opportunities, and even responsibilities God has given to us to use, not waste—are we using those ingredients and making the most of them? Are we using them for God or just forgetting about them after we tuck them away in our lives?

Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
So then do not be foolish,
but understand what the will of the Lord is.
~Ephesians 5:15-17

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