Dirty Hands; Washed Hearts

With the first rumblings of a "flu" coming from the other side of the world, came the very practical admonition, "Wash your hands." It seems so simple. It seems like something everyone would be -- should be doing anyway. Right? Fast forward to Day 30-something of state quarantine. I'm entering a public bathroom, I hear a flush. A woman emerges from the stall. She checks the mirror, grabs a strand of hair, tucks it behind her ear, brushes something from her brow, and leaves the restroom. I am dumbfounded. I spend days trying to wrap my head around it, until... Days later an office mate returns from the men's room. He is perplexed. He can hardly form the words. Finally, "Can you tell me how you can use the bathroom and not wash your hands?" And there it is! Confirmation! The door is open. I can breathe again! "Yes!" I exclaim. "Especially at a time like this!" Another coworker pipes up, "I see that more now, with the warnings and recommendations in place, than I ever did."

Now, I realize, this may not be a topic for "polite conversation," and this is probably the most inappropriate or, at the very least, strangest way anyone's ever gotten to this point, but "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Did you see that one coming? Perhaps my coworkers and I were simply more aware of personal hygiene because of the warnings. Perhaps there is some undercurrent of paranoia when it comes to our health and the health of those we love. And, yes, I know we were being judgmental; but, the first question that came to my mind was, "Do people really disdain what's best solely because authorities and experts have recommended (or even legislated) it?"

For years, I rebelled against any kind of authority. I had my reasons, I told myself. On more than one occasion, I needed protection and guidance from those in charge. I was left to find it on my own. They needed me, they took from me, but when I needed them? Nothing. Inside, I was good -- or at least, wanted to be good. Right? Wrong. I came to find, even when I had "no reason," I broke the law. When my paycheck showed up every Friday and my benefits were the best around, when I was treated with respect and given encouragement and appreciation, when I was in no particular hurry, when I had money in my pocket, I broke the law. I ducked out of work early, I took shortcuts, I disregarded the speed limit (by a lot), I shoplifted. Why? Because my heart was deceitful, wicked. I wasn't going to be told what to do -- Pride. Because I could -- Power. I had what I wanted and felt I owed no one anything more -- Selfishness. Because whatever good I was trying to do, I was doing it in my own strength -- Legalism.

The Apostle Paul talks a lot about the law -- so much so, I couldn't possibly go into it all here. But, at the least, he tells us law is necessary. Laws set boundaries, defining behavior that is harmful and making us aware of our need for righteousness. Law reveals the compassionate and just nature of the Lawgiver. Laws provide a way for us, in gratitude for all He has done, to return just a portion of all He is due through obeying and serving Him. However, the law has its drawbacks. One of which is the inability of the law -- even the wholehearted obedience of the law -- to make us right with God. Another one is human nature. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Even Paul, the suffering, slave to Christ that he was, struggled with his old nature and its disobedience. By placing our focus on obeying statutes and demands it can have the completely opposite result, causing us to break the rules rather than obey them -- like being on a diet, and repeating over and over, "I won't eat the chips. I won't eat the chips." What happens? You become obsessed with the chips and you eat them.

It's hard to believe. We hear the platitudes all the time, that mankind is basically good, that we all desire to help and do right by our fellow man. Not true. James 1:17, tells us that every good gift comes from God. Even the good gift of being good. Whatever good we do is because goodness comes from God. All our "best deeds" are filthy rags. Our legacy, stemming from Adam, is a legacy of sin, a sin nature handed down to us by our human father, Adam.

All this leaves us with a few questions: So, what do we do about this propensity to rebel, to disobey the law just because it is law? And, if all of humanity is innately evil, how do we follow authority and obey laws established by sinners just like us? Well, stay tuned! Tomorrow I will tell you all I can. In the meantime, stay well. And, please, wash your hands.