not a hint

I remember a time when my wife was trying to get my daughter to eat onion. She would hide a fragment in the middle of a hamburger, but Amber would still taste it and reject her food. All it took was the slightest trace of onion.

I thought of that this morning as I read Ephesians 5:3: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

When I picture my impurities as onion fragments in the hamburger, I realize how much sin I’m willing to tolerate. I can definitely handle a little bit; in fact, I’ve put up with a fair amount at different times of my life. As long as it’s mostly beef, I’m good. In fact, there have been times I’ve bought into the idea that purity is boring, and everyone needs some sin in their lives to be interesting.

Paul says that’s not right. He says I shouldn’t tolerate even a hint of impurity. He says my standards are too low, and as a result I’m disappointing Jesus.

I need to react to sin like my daughter did to onion. Sometimes you can learn important lessons from your kids.