“Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ” (Ephesians 4:31,32).
During the Civil War, 620,000 soldiers died. Two-thirds of them didn’t die from wounds; they died from disease. Because many battlefields were near swamps, wounded soldiers had to walk through nasty, mucky, muddy, bacteria-filled water to get help. The bacteria worked its way into them, and they got life-threatening infections. Without running water and clean bathrooms at their camps, diseases spread quickly from one person to the next. All the bacteria and germs and bugs got into the soldiers’ bodies and killed them.
God thinks that holding a grudge against someone, having a quick temper, and fighting are signs that you are walking around in a swamp. Yelling, hating others, and using “bad” words lets others know that you are walking around in nasty, mucky garbage.
Because Jesus lived and died for you, you can crawl out of the filth. You no longer enjoy living that way. Jesus has washed you clean.
Dear Jesus, thank you for washing me clean. You have taken away all the filth from my life. I’m sorry, though, because sometimes I still like to be angry, to fight, and to hate others. Thank you for washing me clean every single day, for giving me another opportunity to live for you. Amen.
