"Scum"

                                                                        by Laura Kuester

Well, my house has been for sale now a little over a month. God has been teaching me a lot over this last month. Mostly about patience and waiting on his perfect timing, but also about messes, clutter and scum. I think every woman can relate to the word “scum”. It is the disgusting film that creeps into the house and spreads it’s tenacious tentacles on every moist and motionless object. It is our sworn enemy, and with the help of an arsenal of chemicals, we have declared war! We attack with scrubbing bubbles, spraying bottles and foaming cleansers. Our bathtubs must shine victoriously! All unsightly rings must be immediately eradicated! We cannot allow the beauty of our faucets to be dulled and rendered useless! Our commodes must send forth a sweet smelling aroma! The war must be won!

Scum seems to appear everywhere, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, even in the food we cook. The dictionary defines “scum” as “impure matter that rises to the surface of boiling or fermenting liquids; a worthless element; refuse.” I am sure that most of us has seen the nasty gray scum that floats to the top of a pot of boiling potatoes or the white froth that rises in a pan of boiling hotdogs (that is if you don’t use a microwave). Of course this distasteful material is always removed before serving our friends and families. We don’t want them to see this repulsive scum. I am wondering though if we may develop some “spiritual scum” in our lives that is far more unattractive. Sometimes we allow it to creep in and dull our spiritual lives and if we are not careful it can wrap its tentacles so tightly around us we become useless for Christ.

Many times we become much like the boiling pot. We get our feelings hurt because we were overlooked or perhaps we were not consulted on some matter. Maybe we feel that we, a family member or friend has been mistreated, taken advantage of, or dealt with unjustly. Those hurt feelings begin to bubble and boil up within us and an ugly scum begins to cover our spirit.

Our attitude changes, the smiles fade, the brow wrinkles, the lips begin to “pooch”. The once loving and joyfully free spirit becomes unhappy, dulled by the scum of self pity and pride.  We begin to murmur and complain. Our light that is to shine for Christ becomes darkened. Our testimony is marred; and if we continue on in this sinful condition, we become useless for the cause of Christ. We have all experienced an attack of “spiritual scum”. It’s part of being human. God knows just how human we are, so He gave us the “scrubbing bubbles” of His word to wage war on “spiritual scum”.

Philipians 2:14-16 gives this advice, “Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing”.

Have hurt feelings caused the scum of pride to dull your light for Christ? Don’t let bitterness take root and spread it’s tentacles into your life. Remove it before it spreads to your family and friends. Confess your wrong feelings to Christ. He will cleanse your heart and restore the brightness of your fellowship with Him. In Ephesians 5:8 we are instructed to walk as children of light. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the world. Don’t let spiritual scum mar your testimony for Christ. Someone’s eternal destiny is depending on the brightness of your light.