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I know God must have made skunks for a good
reason. Not being a skunk-lover I just can’t quite fathom
what that reason could be! I remember the day on the farm when my
Dad and one of my brothers, Frank, treed a skunk, thinking
it was a opossum. The skunk won the confrontation and they were left
in the middle of the stream trying to wash the smell off so Mom
would let them in the house! One minister of Music I served with
built a large beautiful house on a golf course soon after he arrived
in town. There was one flaw; a gap in the access door leading under
the house. Months later, during mating season for skunks, a half
dozen of the creatures chose the crawl space of his house for their
romantic encounter. The humans upstairs knew something wasn’t quite
right but thought it was just wisps of skunk-dom from the fields
nearby. It wasn’t until the skunks chewed a hole in the ductwork to
the air conditioning system that the full effect of the unwanted
guests was realized. At that point the situation was untenable and
required immediate action. Hundreds of dollars and one
skunk-trapper later the skunks were finally on their way to a
new home.
Sometimes, people get so busy that they leave
gaps in their spiritual lives. Before long, unwanted
temptations and influences sneak in and occupy space intended for
better things. Soon things begin to smell funny! You begin to notice
that there is something unpleasant about your life and your
relationship with God. When you fail to notice gaps in your
life and fail to keep out the things that don’t belong you can end
up in sin. It doesn’t take much sin to make your life begin to
smell. Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, “As dead flies give perfume a bad
smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” I’m not the
sharpest knife in the drawer but I’m smart enough to know that
wisdom and honor are always better than a skunk under the
house! I advise you to choose wisdom and honor.
Common Sense Application
1. When you let sin creep in slowly it is not
always obvious at first. That’s why you need a trusted Christian
friend who has a good sense of spiritual smell and who will agree to
be your accountability partner. Give that friend permission to be
honest and up-front with you about areas of your life that are
showing gaps. Listen and take action to keep your life smelling
sweet.
2. Be consistent in your attendance at
worship services and in Bible Study. Guard your mind to keep it
focused on the Word.
3. Keep the cobwebs off of your prayer life. It
may help to keep a journal of prayer concerns and records of
answered prayer.
4. If you consistently find that there are gaps
in your spiritual life it may help to print a picture of a skunk and
tape it to your mirror! Every morning you will be reminded what it
smells like to God when you allow sin into your life.
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