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Stripping the Gears

Something was wrong with the washing machine. The power cord was plugged into the outlet and was fine. My appliance repairman husband took the machine apart to see what was wrong with it. As he was examining a part I inquired as to what was wrong. He said that the gears on the control knob had been stripped. I asked him how that could have occurred. He said that it happened because the knob had been repeatedly turned the wrong way. Explaining that the gears were not designed to be run counterclockwise he showed me the worn part.. He explained that over a period of time of incorrect usage it wore the gears down so that they were smooth and had lost their effectiveness.

In the wee hours of the morning his explanation came back to me. It dawned on me this is what we do when we disobey God’s principles, His laws. For a long time it is easy to go against the way God designed us to live. Just like that washing machine it works fine for a while. Nevertheless we are stripping the effectiveness out of our lives. Day after day we live our lives against the Word and will of God. One day, like Samson, we go to do what we’ve always done to make our lives work. We get the shock of our lives when our lives are no longer working and we are weak and stripped of our ability to get the job done. Just like that washing machine there was nothing wrong with it’s source of power. I realized that our lives were not meant to live in disobedience to God. When I realize I'm going against the Word of God it's time for me to repent so as not to strip the effectiveness from my life.
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