Who knew that looking at a big ugly bug crawling around in the bottom of my kitchen sink would give me pause for reflection into my own life?
It was a bug. What was there to think about? Normally, I don’t have to think long when I see a bug of any kind. The question usually is as simple as, “Where is the nearest shoe?” Whereas snakes and birds may have me running the other way…bugs don’t tend to scare me very much. They’re creepy and they get on my nerves, but squishing a bug doesn’t usually faze me. Well, except for the crunch. Ick. I’m not a big fan of the crunch.
Anyway, there it was scratching its eight or twelve or thirty little bug legs (I didn’t stop to count), trying with all of its might to find a way out of the bottom of my slippery, wet sink. While the question may have normally been, “Where is the nearest shoe?” I wasn’t too keen on taking off my flip-flop and putting it into the bottom of the sink to squish the bug.
Therefore, I resorted to Plan B, which of course in the case of an ugly bug in the sink means: Run Water Over the Bug.
If you’ve ever run water over a bug, you will learn that a bug is quite unusually determined. It will put all of its eight or twelve or thirty legs to work at the same time, scratching as frantically as it can in the opposite direction of the flow of the water. And about the time you think you have surely captured the bug in the flow of the water and killed it, you will turn off the water and see that the bug was hardly fazed at all. It will, in fact, blink and sputter a time or two, then begin to crawl around again as if it only just experienced a lovely refreshing shower…not a near death experience.
You will then resort to Plan C which is to turn on the steaming hot water to kill the bug. Again, the bug will only act as if it just experienced a delightful dip in the hot tub at a spa resort.
You can try scooping the bug up into a cup of water. It will go for a swim. You can try pushing it down the drain. It will come up for more like it just went down a cool water slide.
Nothing you can do will drown the bug.
There is only one thing you can do to get rid of the bug. You have to squish its guts out.
Lovely to think about isn’t it?
The moral of this story is a simple one: If you have sin or strife in your life, you can not merely “run water over it” and try to get rid of it. Taking the easy way out will not result in cleaning up your life. Running water over it will only temporarily fix the issue, making it appear as if it is gone…but it will quickly resurface itself the moment the water is turned off.
If you have a sin in your life, you have to squish it. You have to hear the crunch. It will likely hurt.
But then it will be gone. And you can clean up the guts that are splattered all over the place then fill that void in your life with something healthy, whole and good.
Yes indeed. Who knew you could learn so much from a bug?
Laura says
I am amazed at how people can see these kinds of wonderful God moments in such ordinary things. Thank you so much for sharing it with me!
Tracy Compaan says
Great analogy! What a wonderful application. However, if it were me, I would have probably run water over it, forcing it down the drain, then turned on the garbage disposal if I had one. But that’s just me. LOL. :)
Laura says
Well, that IS another way to squish its guts out, huh? :)
Tracy Compaan says
AND it still fits your analogy. :)
ElaineH says
That is an interesting illustration. I would not have though of it as most of the bugs I get around my sinks do find themselves going down the drains and out into the septic tank, rarely does one return. That said I do understand what you are saying about the sin. I will need to chew on this. Thanks. :-)
Crystal says
Thanks for this.. I’ve been weepy all day… praying and crying. I’ve been dealing with something for some time now. I’ve done lots of trying to ‘fix it’. But I just need to squish it. And I know that. It’s difficult though.. and I’m not sure how to deal with it since many people don’t find this particular sin for me, a sin for them. I just need to keep praying, I guess.
Ashley says
I heard Joyce Meyer say one time that if you feel in your heart that what you’re doing is a sin, whether it really is for others or not, then it’s a sin for you. Sometimes we are convicted to change things in our own lives but don’t understand why others are not. I pray that you get through this with as little pain from the squishing as possible!
Andrea says
I usually get a piece of paper, get the bug on it and take it outside…not sure of the analogy of that. LOL!
Courtney says
I also save bugs and so do my kids. I figure it’s not the bug’s fault that it ended up in my house!
Laurie Plath says
Thank you for that Laura. You’ve been such a blessing to me again and again. I thank God for blessing you with such wisdom and for sharing it with us.
Alisa says
I like your analogy!
Shelly says
LOVE this! You are so clever and brilliant!! THanks for sharing
Susan says
You are so right! The analogy was perfect. Too often I think, our attempts to get rid of sin are superficial. Like the child that says sorry even while hitting his brother for the second time. It needs to have an end, it is needs to be clear that it is done with. Thanks for the thought.
Adrian says
I liked the analogy but saying that you kill creatures then say that the story is about god seems kind of like hypocritical if you have a sin in you’re life go and kill a creature that will make things much better? how about let the creature go and fight you’re sin the right way. Basically it’s an excuse to indulge in killing a creature much smaller than yourself and if this is true other animals should crush you because your a prime animal to be squashed.
Tami says
I love how God teaches us! The “Bug” lesson is great! Thanks for sharing.
DorthyM says
Great analogy! It’s definitely something to think about! Bugs, like sin, hate soap. A little dishsoap and poor bug goes bye bye. I despise bugs.
Ariana says
And thus why a simple dip in a river is not enough – you must have faith in Jesus to wash away your sin. Amazing what a bug can teach. Just the other day I prayed asking God for guidance on how to handle bugs. I went through a period of heroic efforts to save a bug to get him back outside, then I went to the opposite end of finding the nearest shoe, and now I just don’t know how to handle the situation so I just sit and stare at the thing wondering what to do with him!
Darlene says
I use this method when a bug shows up…..boil a pan of water and pour it down the drain. For some reason the bugs never return. I can’t do the squish thing but I can easily do the boil! Thank you for such a wonderful post, God bless!
Anton says
So basically you have to deal with your own sin and get rid of it yourself… There’s a theological term for it called the works righteousness. We are cleansed of sin by works, but not our works, Jesus’ works, that’s why it’s grace through faith, not works.
ace says
I know you’re making a metaphor, but I still winced at this. I would never just callously kill anything, even a bug. They are all God’s creatures, after all, and it’s really no big trouble to me to put a cup over it, slide a card under the cup, and put the bug outside. It takes me seconds and from the bug’s “point of view” (yes, I know bugs don’t “think,” but still) its whole life needn’t end just because it made the mistake of wandering into my house. Don’t you believe that God is pleased by even the most humble acts of mercy and kindness to His creations?