Temptation #10

Have you ever thought it is a bizarre thing to take a shower before you get into a pool? Are people really all that dirty that they need to wash before they climb into a pool? Perhaps some people have poor hygiene, but do dirty people with body odor, dirty skin, or greasy hair really climb into a public pool?
While in Europe once, I was asked to bathe before I went into a sauna. Apparently, the owners wanted only clean, soapy perspiration in their sauna. It struck me as so strange that I was there to perspire out whatever toxins were in my body, which would turn me into a greasy, piggy-feeling person. But I was to be sure to wash first.

The last temptation in this series is the one we hear the least about in the gospels: the desire to get clean before we come to Jesus. Paul speaks about this in Romans, where he tells us that righteousness is a gift from God--it does not come from anything we can produce ourselves. He later wrote of all the indicators of righteousness that he had: circumcision, appropriate genealogical lines, education, and flawless observance of Levitical law. But, he wrote, Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is the best thing of all. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it [man-made righteousness] to be garbage so I can get to know Christ. (Philipians 3:8).

Isaiah probably said it best: All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away (64:6).

So many of us hate to be caught looking bad. One of my friends always tidies up the house before the house cleaning service arrives. "I don't want them to think I live in squalor." So I chuckle and watch her scurrying around, emptying trash and making stacks of papers out of the litter everywhere.

It seems like we do this when we present ourselves to God. We'd like to be clean first so we have some shred of human dignity. Even though we're not all-knowing, perfect, clumsy, and short-sighted, we'd like to be the best we can be so we don't offend God. This could be a noble motive. But who can get clean enough first? Who can be spiritually scrubbed up enough so as to impress a perfect, righteous God? Not one.

Righteousness is a gift from God. Forgiveness and repentance are gifts. Justification and sanctification are gifts. The ability to turn toward God is a gift. We can do none of these things, but we waste time, trying to tidy ourselves up before we ask for Him to forgive, change, and empower us. We cannot afford to be separated from Jesus for even a moment. I think that God expects us to be much more human than we expect ourselves to be--and I don't think He is scandalized by our condition or our foibles nearly as much as we are.

God calls us to come to Him as quickly as we can, in whatever state we find ourselves. Then and only then, He will then will and do within us His good pleasure.