La Cucaracha:  Time to Call the Exterminator (May 29, 2016)

​

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”   (John 3:16-20)

​

         Sin and the cockroach have a lot in common. In order for either one to establish a place in our lives, they have to find a place to hide, for neither sin nor the cockroach likes the light. Jesus told Nicodemus [in the citation from John’s gospel quoted above] that those who sin do not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. In the same way, if you have ever had the unpleasant experience of meeting “la cucaracha,” you noticed they, too, do not like the light. Some houses, though, become so infested that the roaches will come out in broad daylight. By the time they are doing that, it seems, they have become so numerous they are accustomed to having their run of the place and no longer fear being exposed by the light.

        Sin can also begin to thrive in our lives when, like the cockroach, it first finds a place to hide, a place to establish a presence in the hidden corners of our lives. This is why accountability is so important in in the Christian’s life. James wrote in his letter, 

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16) 

        Exterminating sin from our lives begins by finding a (spiritually mature and responsible) individual to whom we can confess our sins. Exterminating sin begins when we deny it a place to hide in our lives.

        Confessing our sins also keeps it from “showing up even when the lights are on,” for sin can so infest our lives that it begins to be seen virtually everywhere: our speech, our relationships, even our worship! We can become so accustomed to its presence that sin parades openly in our lives. Is it time for us to "call in the exterminator?"