My basement is a wreck. It’s so bad I don’t want to clean it…the pain of cleaning far outweighs whatever benefit I might get from having it clean.
King Hezekiah in the Old Testament had the same problem. God’s house had fallen into disrepair. The priests had mismanaged the money, filled the temple with idols and forsaken God. Before Hezekiah could even think about returning the people to pure worship he had to cleanse the temple, tear down the pagan altars, and repair the damages.
It will be the same for those today who wish to cleanse the church of its idolatry and return to something pure. But the cleansing isn’t of some building…its of me. I must be cleansed of my idolatry. I have to repent of my adultery with the world. I have to allow God to repair the damages of sin in me. It’s easy to point fingers at the church and condemn the selfishness and worldliness until I realize it starts with me.
The temple won’t be cleansed until I pick up my garbage. The idolatry won’t be abolished until I destroy my idols. This process is painful, long, and humbling. It might (and probably will) require the dismantling of everything I’ve built up and become.
And, like my basement, it won’t happen until I begin to see the beauty of what could be if I just get it done. If it were easy…it would have been done by now.
Quitting Christianity 