The basket of peaches looked incredibly inviting. A quick nip of fruit before heading out on a long trip was just the ticket! I wasn’t sure about how they would taste. It is still early in the season for England. A quick touch of the fruit brought the realization that things were not as wonderful as it might otherwise appear.
There was a bad peach in the lot. Just like apples the presence of one spoiled in the midst can sour the whole lot. The removal dramatically improved the chances of the remaining fruit nurturing someone partaking at a future date. Any thought that I had about eating a peach vanished as I watched the peach disappear in the garbage bag.
The proverb about a bad apple spoiling the group is true with fruit and in my experience also applies to people. Solomon goes a step further; “Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down; you need a break from bickering and griping!” (Proverbs 22.10)
Question is; what if it is I am the one? What should I do then? How do I respond to other’s complaints? Should I deal with others as harshly as I do with myself? How should one face reality?
It is hard to realize that being accountable for one’s actions does not change my underlying value. I am priceless because God said so directly. I am beyond value because of the price paid for the opportunity I now have to be recreated and restored. Everything that I say applies equally as much to you and to everyone we know. I do realize that there are things that I do that seem disgusting; we all slip most of the time. God anticipated that, knew if even better than we do, and stated unequivocally that we are his chosen, his beloved, and his children.
Yet I am accountable and so are you. The cure is blindingly simple. Say yes to God in everything that one says, does, and think and let the wholeness and fullness of God take care of the rest.
