Wednesday in the Word: Get the Grease Out

Have I ever told you I despise doing dishes? It’s true. The worst is when I decorate a cake. Buttercream frosting may be great on the cake (Not for me. I don’t care for frosting. But for others.), but it’s awful to clean up.

We don’t have a dishwasher. After our last one sparked in the middle of the night when it wasn’t even on, I’m hesitant to replace it. Usually, hand washing dishes is time consuming and boring, but whatever. I do them because we need clean dishes.

Buttercream frosting is another story. When I decorate, I have at least one mixing bowl, a measuring cup, piping tips, and spatulas to wash. I stopped buying reusable piping bags a long time ago. (I know they’re better for the environment, but it’s gross.) There are still several things I need to wash.

I buy the good dish soap, the one that takes care of grease. I have to. Because if there’s one thing you have after making buttercream, it’s grease. And I use hot water, as hot as I can get it without scalding my hands. But even prepared with hot water, good soap, and a fresh washrag, it can’t stop the curse of the buttercream frosting.

It takes a thorough scrubbing to clean these dishes. The heavy grease content in the frosting means a slick film left on your dishes if you’re not diligent about getting it off. Even being intent on it, you sometimes have to make a fresh sink of water or change rags. Once a dishcloth gets that film on it, all it does it transfer it to the next dish. And forget washing any other dishes. If you try, they’ll end up with that greasy sheen.

Nope. The water must be emptied, the sink cleaned, and a new rag found before new dishes can be done.

And did I mention what happens to hands? By the time the dishes are done, your hands are so coated in grease you won’t need lotion for at least six months. It’s disgusting. Washing them helps. Washing them again helps a little more. Eventually enough soap and hot water will wash it away, but it’s not going to happen with a quick rinse.

Why all this talk about washing dishes? Because as I was washing up after making a batch of frosting this week, I couldn’t help thinking about Galatians 5:9 where Paul talks about false teachings leading people into sin. He says, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” I feel this when I’m washing dishes.

It doesn’t take a lot of frosting. Really, it’s only the remnants of the frosting because I scrape out my dishes before I wash them. This little bit of leftover frosting ruins the water, put film on my dishes, and coats my hands.

It doesn’t take a lot of sin either. When we allow sin into our lives, it spreads and affects so many different parts of life. Even what we would consider small sins from our earthly perspective, sins that should only bring results in one area of our lives, spread, leaving their greasy sheen on everything we come in contact with.

Soon our attitudes change. We don’t feel as close to God. His voice becomes less clear. We face new temptations. And it starts with one greasy, little sin.

But we don’t have to live with a film of sin over everything in our lives. Confessing our sin and repenting of it brings forgiveness. Honest appraisal of other attitudes and behaviors can show us where the grease of sin has spread. Sometimes, we find someone else’s life has been coated in the greasy sheen of our sin. In those cases, we may need to seek forgiveness from one we’ve wronged.

The process can be time consuming. It can be painful. But as with my frosting, we have to be deal with it completely or we’ll find its film on everything in our lives.

Is there another example from life that you feel illustrates this verse?