Last Saturday, my family members and I discovered a bed bug infestation in my bedroom. The sight of the bed bug colony was terrible to behold. It was disgusting! The bugs spilled blood when I squished them and their litter dotted sides of a wooden bed frame. Not leaving any chances for another colony to be formed, we checked every suspected spots where bed bugs could hide, vacuum-cleaned our mattresses, washed bedsheets and sprayed insecticide. It was hard work and rubbing on each other’s raw nerves makes it a very nasty experience. But it was necessary, because once bed bugs enter into your home, they will disperse from one local spot to many hiding places, thus making it hard to exterminate them. Consistent housekeeping is required to destroy them. Otherwise, they would be a harassment, inflicting you with itchy sores that take a long time to heal.

 

I was reminded of what God told the Israelites to do about the other inhabitants of Canaan. He instructed them to destroy them completely, let none remain to live with Israel, burn the altars of foreign gods (Baal and Ashtoreth) and have nothing to do with the Canaanites. Failure to do so will cause the Israelites to conform to the Canaanite religious rituals and even be oppressed by the Canaanites. As you read the book of Judges, you’ll learn how Israel was plundered and made to pay tribute to surrounding nations as a consequence of not obeying God’s command to search and destroy all other inhabitants of the land of Canaan.

 

The same applies to us in our struggles against sin. Jesus said that if there is any part of our body that causes us to sin, we are to chop it off and gouge it out and it is better to lose a part than to suffer in hell where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. In essense, He is telling us to take a radical stand against sin. If there is any bad habit to get rid of, we need to do it immediately, for it is better to live and enjoy God’s blessings for you than to live and be harrassed by guilt and negative mentality caused by your sinful habits. It is necessary to cut off bad habits from your life, just like killing bed bug colonies.

 

Recall the covenant you’ve made with Jesus and the promises you’ve spoken at the start of this year. Have there been shortfalls that caused you to drift away from Him? Thanksgiving Day is drawing near and it is not too late now to clamp down on mental strongholds (sinful thoughts, laziness, coldness to God, etc) and revive your love for Jesus. You want to conclude 2008 with many things to thank Him for, so don’t let sin infest you.