So there I was, eating lunch in the dining facility on base. I had decided that I was going to eat healthy over the course of Officer Development School, so I regularly ate salads, fruit, yogurt, etc. You know, the kind of stuff my wife would be pleased to know I was eating even though she wasn’t around 😉
After eating four or five bites of my salad I saw it.
I saw a dead fly on the side of the bowl, hiding out on a spinach leaf.
That did it for me—I lost my appetite. I couldn’t eat one more bite of salad, not even from the “clean” side of the salad.
And, true story, I was instantly reminded of the passages in the Bible that talk about a little bit of yeast leavening the whole batch of dough.
Paul twice talks about it:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough….
-1 Corinthians 5:6
and
You were running well; who hindered you from following the truth? That enticement does not come from the one who called you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.
-Galatians 5:7-9
In both passages, Paul is talking about how allowing a little bit of something to exist within the community can negatively impact the entire group. The first passage is dealing with personal sin in the group. The second passage is dealing with spiritual leaders who preach a false gospel and corrupt the group.
The principle can be extended into our personal lives as well. When we allow the wrongs things to continue to exist in our lives, then our entire lives can be negatively affected. Rather than trying to tough it out and eat around the dead flies, we’re better off chucking the whole salad and starting fresh.
What is the dead fly in your salad?
What exists that can negatively impact your entire spirituality? Perhaps it’s a person. Maybe it’s a behavior. Whatever it is, do you understand that leaving it unchecked can eventually wreak havoc in your life?
Get it out.
Start fresh.
Don’t eat that fly.
I welcome all discussion, just keep it civil and polite. If this post resonates with you in any way, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, or email!
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Is it possible for me to use the picture of the fly on a stretcher? Just checking what the copyright is on it.
Chris,
Great story and application. Thanks.
I had a salad full of tiny bugs when we were in France, and had eaten most of it before my daughter pointed them out to me. When I complained, the waiter said, “This is summer, bugs are to be expected.” I haven’t eaten a salad in France since then.