Is there pollution in our homes?

TODAY’S PROVERB: Whoever rewards evil for good—evil will never leave his house. Proverbs 17:13

This is one of those “blink” passages. We tend to blink over them because they don’t — on the surface — apply to us. In today’s proverb, it’s easy to blink over the word “evil.” As believers who are justified by faith in Jesus, we’re not evil. Right? Absolutely.

But, one day, the passage “provoked” an emotion and caused me to pause and seek the LORD about it.  I landed on the most basic of our faith. Sin. Sin is evil. While — thanks to Yeshua — I’m not condemned because of sin, I can be convicted of sin. While my intent is not for evil — the outcome can look the same.

Some of those sins are so deeply rooted, I need His help digging them out. It can take years or a lifetime to accomplish that for some deeply rooted ones. Knowing I struggle with those deep roots means I have to keep my heart centered on keeping my home and Sacred Place clear of anything that can trigger it.

The deeply rooted sin I struggle with is perfectionism. As I’ve said before, I’m a recovering perfectionist. Perfectionists can never truly be grateful or satisfied — how evil is that? And, every once in a while it sticks its ugly head out when I least expect it.

This issue manifests its evil pollution in my spirit by being judgmental, critical, impatient, greedy, envious. If I’m tired or feeling low, or just lazy and step out of the place of gratitude, my impatience and judgmental attitude eventually contaminates everything around me, including my home — and worse, my Sacred Place with the LORD.

How do I know when that happens? It’s reflected in the eyes of those I love. If you struggle with this or wonder if you struggle with this — even from time to time — watch your loved ones’ eyes. If we see the malaise of sadness, rejection, disappointment, or confusion, STOP and seek. Have we gone too far seeking the perfect act, or words, or behavior? Are we not content with the small act, when we think them capable of more?

Only the Holy Spirit can reveal that to us. And that can only happen when we humble ourselves enough to listen.

Thankfully, He will let us know so that we can repent and clean up the hazardous waste we deposited. He helps us dig out another layer of that root — maybe all of it this time. And that’s a good thing.

May our hearts and homes be a sacred place, my friends.

Proverbs 17:13, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs