google bar

"my google bar, as I am sitting here looking at it, reads diarrhea with rash for toddlers." It's the last thing I looked up tonight before jumping on facebook and answering some emails. You probably guessed it...my son is a bit sick today. We're trying to pump him full of electrolytes and get him some sleep and we'll see how it works.

The odd thing is that he's happy as can be as long as his diaper is not full of whatever that is that's coming out of him. He doesn't seem sick at all. He wants to play, he wants to read books, go over his ABC's and play some hoops. He has no symptoms whatsoever except that mess every hour or so and a rash that he keeps hidden underneath his shirt.

I was thinking about how that corresponds with what we do in our day to day lives. (it's what I do, I can't help it) Everything looks so great on the outside and even in our hearts and minds we are pursuing Jesus and really seeking how we can live kingdom type lifestyles and then, out of nowhere, comes this selfishness that drives us to something that is totally for ourselves. It doesn't advance the kingdom in any way and in some ways it detracts from what God is doing in the world. We're shocked and ashamed by our action and we confess it and move on, back to what we were doing before and things seem so great again. Until we fill our diapers for the umpteenth (to borrow a word from my mother) time. We keep changing it and changing it, but the discomfort we feel is not affecting us deeply enough. The diaper gets changed but the dysentery continues and we don't get to the root of the problem.

There are different ways to get to the root of the different problems that each of us has. It's time to acknowledge that the problem isn't just those momentary lapses. The problem goes much deeper than that. It's time to stand up and face those things, to make them known to the people around us who can help us make a difference. It's time to do the hard things and attack the problem, not just change the diaper.