Fruit Flies

A week or two ago I was battling fruit flies in my kitchen. They were driving me CRAZY!!!! A friend of mine posted on Facebook about her own battles with the little varmints and an idea for getting rid of them. She suggested apple cider vinegar and liquid dish soap in a bowl by the kitchen sink. The vinegar attracts them with its sweet smell and they follow it blindly into the bowl. However, once in the bowl, the dish soap makes it so that they are not able to leave the bowl and their sad little lives end. I was so excited to discover the remedy and immediately got out what I needed and set the bowl up by the sink.

It seemed that I had one main pesky fly that was everywhere in my kitchen. He did not seem to be taking the bait. He circled around, but did not get low enough or close enough to get caught in the trap. For a while it annoyed me, but then I kind of started to respect the guy. I mean, it had to be tempting, and here he was still avoiding it. I almost started to root for him and was even slightly disappointed that he had caved and met his end when I saw him floating in the bowl in the morning. I mean, he was resisting, he was fighting, and in the end it had been too much and overtaken him.

I found a very close comparison to the fly and the cider mixture to us and our spiritual lives. How many times have we been in the same situations ourselves? We start out strong avoiding sin. We fly high and really are not bothered by it. Then little by little, one small subtle compromise at a time, we get closer and closer to the sweet smell. It entices us and draws us one step closer. We still feel in control, yet we let our guard down just a little more, a little more- we dip our toes in...that can't hurt. All at once we are overcome by it and jump in feet first. It's great, but then we discover one small problem- we can't get out! There's no turning back and we begin to drown. I know it seems obvious when we look at what we consider to be "big" sins- addictions, marital infidelity, etc, but I started thinking about the things in my life that I so easily overlook. Things like saying things I shouldn't to my husband and children, being judgemental, gossip, sarcasm, having a negative attitude, whining, wishing I had things someone else does. I'm pretty sure it's all the same to God. Pretty sure it's ugly and an abomination to Him and disappoints Him. On the other hand, I am really thankful that He still loves me and He grabs my hand just before it's about to sink beneath the surface and forgives me and gives me a fresh start. I hope I can stop and think about what I am about to say, stop and adjust my attitude, stop and thank God for all He has given me. I hope I will do this often and stay away from that bowl of destruction despite its sweet smell. I think I learned a valuable lesson that day from my tiny fly friend!