No one wants to leave their trash out for others to see. Yet, one of my garbage cans is sitting at the curb the day after pickup. Once a week I lug the filled-to-the-brim garbage container to the top of the driveway. Some servant drives by and a robotic arm dumps all my trash into the back of the truck never to be seen again, by me anyway.

Recycling is picked up every other week. This confuses me for if I’m gone a week I lose track. Proof being that the container is still out at the curb. In that container is lots of junk mail, once-read papers, outdated magazines, and plastic containers with barely legible numbers for my fifty-something eyes. (What does a 7 mean anyway and why can’t I recycle it?)

No one sees what’s in those containers. Someone has to be desperate to scavenge through another’s trash—especially when she has her own to deal with. All that rotted food, empty containers, the wrappers from the energy bars I ate today (Won’t three give you more energy?), and on and on.

You know, the same things that are in your trash can. All the things that are ugly, messy, and broken in my life that I don’t want anyone to see–so I hide it away in trash bins.

All this trash. All this mess in my life. All hidden in the drawers of my mind and the crevices of my heart. I like to think no one will notice, but you know what–sin smells. It encircles me like the cloud of dirt surrounding Peanuts character Pig-Pen.

But God provided us a way to rid ourselves of the trash–completely and forever through Jesus:

If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

And when we do, God sweeps away our sins and remembers them no more (Isaiah 43:25).

The stubborn sins yet to be defeated get put in the recycling bin. Over and over they return. We’ve tried to deal with the bugaboo sin, but it’s root is deep. Sometimes it’s even comforting and doesn’t seem all that bad, but we know better, for by the next day we’re ballin’ our eyes out because we’re so defeated by the thing. These deep-rooted sins will require more time with Jesus and more strength from God to defeat them.

It’s not easy to admit I have sin in my life, but we all do (Romans 3:23). The longer I leave sin unconfessed, though, the greater the stench and consequences resulting from it.

This confession is not a once-a-week affair like our trash pickup. Confessing should be a moment-by-moment occurrence. As soon as we’re convicted or do the thing we said we wouldn’t, confess it.

It’s time to do some trash removal. Let’s rid ourselves of the sin that keeps us from moving forward in our walk with Jesus. Let’s deal with the sin that’s following us around like we’re Pig-Pen.

When we deal with our sin and confess it, we will radiate beauty instead.

There’s abundant life out there to live, a wide open field of freedom, but it’s only available apart from this trash God calls sin.

If you are not following Jesus, I’d love to chat with you about Him. You can get a hold of me through the contact form on the home page.