One of the many beauties of Puerto Rico is that horses (among other
types of animals) roam the land free. You may see a horse crossing in front of
your house, at a stop sign, across an open field, really anywhere, anytime.
Sometimes they are being ridden or put out to pasture or they are wild and just
doing there “horse thing”.
One of the byproducts of free-range horses is their
manure deposits; again, at anywhere and at anytime.
This morning as I was hyperventilating on my morning jog up
a nearby hill, I spotted a horse manure pile up ahead right smack dab in the
middle of my narrow path that runs close to a busy street. It was large, with multiple flies congregating
around it, and it was downwind from me so it provided a distinct odor for which
I was unable to avoid smelling by holding my breath since I was already in such
short supply. With little time to contemplate how to go about maneuvering
around it without tripping and falling either into the manure pile or into the
street, I was able to successfully and carefully avoid both possibilities
without breaking my stride.
Then God gave me a light bulb moment (yes, God spoke to me
as I avoided falling in a pile of manure)!
On this narrow path that Christians travel on together how
times do encounter a “manure pile” in our path?
The road is “straight and narrow” so there is little leeway
for circumventing stumbling blocks. When we encounter a stumbling block left by
a fellow believer it is never pleasant, normally we curl up our nostrils in
disgust as we are forced to take in its stench, it surely is not visually
appealing either, and sometimes we see others ensnared in it as well.
What do you do? There are a few scenarios that you can
choose from: you could quickly look for a way to avoid tripping and falling
into their “manure pile” and successfully avoid it and then continue on your
way happy and praising yourself for your skills in avoiding entrapment! You
could also stop and complain about it while pointing it to others as they pass
by and exclaim how nasty and dirty it is proclaiming, “Unclean unclean
unclean!”. You could also recruit someone to clean it up and get it out of the
way for you in an effort to remain clean. Also,
you could simply ignore it, pretend it doesn’t bother you and practice
the “mind over matter” technique because
who has time these days to deal with such annoyances that will only bog you
down and ruin such a nice day? Or…. you could face the problem of the stinky pile;
help the “depositor” of said manure pile clean it up while showing them how to
properly take care of it for the next time. Hmmm, so many choices, wouldn't you say?
You know there is a flip side to this analogy as well! Until
we reach the end of our path to Heaven we will never stop encountering “manure
piles” or…..wait for it…..making them ourselves. Manure piles are a fact of
life even on the straight and narrow path with other believers. We all do it
and won’t stop doing it until we are fully transformed. So for now, as we
traverse this path together in our tents of flesh, what about you?
You make “manure
piles” as well. Does yours make others stumble? Does it create road blocks for
other travelers hindering their walkway? Do other travelers make the error of
stumbling smack dab in the middle of your “manure pile” Your “manure pile”
isn’t any more pleasant than the last guys pile a while back, you know! Hhhmmm,
something to think about
Sanctification is rarely pleasant, just like cleaning up a
pile of manure. And, sometimes we get the added bonus of helping out someone
else bear their burdens and giving them a little extra push along the way so
they can overcome their own stumbling blocks.
Manure is manure, we all do it.
The only difference is: what will we do when we do it
ourselves and what do we do when we encounter someone else’s pile?
