A Simple Bath -- A Lesson on Slippery Slopes and Redemption

Yesterday was bath day for the dogs. Frankly, this is not something either me or the dogs really look forward to. I hate the smell of wet dog. Besides that, on one of my dog washing escapades I slipped on the wet floor and bruised my tail bone. That little dog washing episode took me 6 months to recover from. But really, the major objection is that what starts out as a simple bath balloons into a massive undertaking, fraught with struggle and despair. All I thought I was doing was bathing the dog, but in the end, the entire house was affected. Heed the warning.

First of course, I have to get the dogs into the tub. I have to carry Honeybun because there is no way she will get in without a fight. Lucky will get in the tub himself, but if I turn my back for a second, he also gets out of the tub himself. Once the dog is wedged by my knees in the tub and body blocked from escape, there is the scrubbing with sweet smelling shampoo. The dogs don't usually mind this part. During the rinse cycle however, they shake. Dog perfumed water sprays all over me and my bathroom. And when they get out of the tub, they shake again. Any spots that were spared in early shakings, are now soaked with the wet dog perfume. After drying the dogs (which soaks two towels per dog), I have to clean the entire bathroom, including the walls.

Then, I have to brush the dogs since the dog bath loosened all their hair. No matter how long I brush them, more hair comes out. And because it is wet, it gets all over my hands and my clothes and clings like Saran Wrap. It also gets all over the house. So then I have to take a shower. And after that, I have to vacuum the house. Next, I gather all the dog smelly towels, and rugs, and clothes and do a couple of loads of laundry.

By the time I have done the dog washing, the dog brushing, the bathroom cleaning, my showering, the vacuuming, and the laundry, most of my day is shot. And then, of course, there is the lingering smell to remind me of my fun-filled day.

Nothing is ever as simple as it should be. OH yes, it starts simple, and then one thing slips into another, and pretty soon, just like sin, we have landed squarely in Hell.

Look at the Bible, for example. It is pretty straightforward. God gives us guidelines and rules for our protection. There really are not that many, and they are fairly easy to understand. But try to live them! Good grief! Look at all the arguments, rationalizations, twisting of clear cut words to make scripture mold itself around what we want to do, even when we know it is wrong. How do we manage to turn such a simple thing into such a wretched complexity?

Really, if we would just do it His way, God simplifies life. "These are the rules. Obey them and all will be well." However, we are hopeless sinners. We can't obey or be good all the time, or even most of the time. This is obvious. If it isn't obvious to you, ask anyone who knows you well. Sin stinks worse than wet dog. It hurts the sinner, and it hurts those around him. Few of us start off thinking, "Today, I think I will sin!" No, most of us think we, unlike everyone else, will not succumb. We alone are strong, and perceptive, and faithful.

Hint: no you're not. I'm not either.

We might avoid the BIG sins, but how many times today will we speak in anger, or ridicule, or be lazy, or be unkind, or be selfish, or be prideful, or be impatient, or say we will do something and don't do it, or stretch the truth, or gossip, or withhold our help and our resources from those who need it most....etc. etc.? And believe me, sin may start off small...but it never stays that way.

So our merciful God simplifies it even more.

We deserve punishment, and the Bible is pretty clear: the wages of sin is death. So, being just but also being merciful, God provides a substitutionary atonement for our sin. He sends His only begotten son that "whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus pays the penalty for our sin, and we stand spotless before God. This is an awesome deal, and it is shocking that many of us snub it! It is clearly not fair, but it is filled with grace and love. When we recognize that, we should be filled with grace and love ourselves towards others in our infinite gratitude. It is really quite elegant in its simplicity.

Nothing like bathing a dog.

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This is all that I have learnt: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated. (Ecclesiastes 7:29 CEB)

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