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...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God...

The Parable of the Poo
or Closed Mind, Open Heart

There is a popular parable making the rounds about the parent who tried to teach her children about the dangers of compromising with non-Christian doctrine and concepts. She made a batch of brownies and when finished, put them on a plate. Calling in the children she told them these were special brownies in which she had added something extra. The excited children all wanted to know what the new ingredient was.

“Dog poo,” their mother said.

“EWWWWWWW NO WAY AM I GOING TO EAT THAT!”

“But it’s just a little speck of poo, how can that hurt you?” the mother countered.

“It will make us sick!”, the children stated together.

Point made. Even small compromises with the secular and sinful ideas of the world can sicken our walk with God.

Jesus never told us to open our minds to sin; on the contrary we are to close off our minds from bad influences while we open our hearts to those who are hurting, thus preserving our minds from the gangrene of godless gurus. In 2 Timothy 2, St. Paul reminds us:

15 Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation. 16 Avoid profane, idle talk, for such people will become more and more godless, 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene.

and in Romans 12:1, 2

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

In the books of Titus and James we are told how to open our hearts yet remain undefiled by the toxic culture:

...showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us.
Titus 2:7, 8

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27

We are to hold to the wisdom and commonsense of our Faith and it’s teachings on purity and sin while we help others. We must guard against the wee bit of “poo” that will spoil and poison our spiritual walk. A local farmer sums it up succinctly:

“Be careful that when you open your mind your brain doesn’t fall out.”

So let us close our minds to sin’s influence while we open our hearts to others: after all, we must be salt and light to the world.