A funny thing happened on the way to rolling out the garbage can last week. Someone must’ve gotten sidetracked because it never actually happened. Only it really wasn’t that funny a thing. The reason it’s not funny when we miss a week of trash pick-up is because…how can I say this?…we are really trashy people. I’m amazed at how much garbage one family can generate.

That puts us in a particular ugly trash bind this week. Not only does that leave that little layer of milk coagulating another week in the bottom of those milk jugs, but there’s an overflow situation that is anything but pretty. The flies love it. But picture me weighing all my kids to see which one is the heaviest, then sending that one out to climb into the bin and stomp all the trash down to make room for more. I can just picture one of my neighbors looking out a window at just the wrong time and saying something like, “Oh look, Bob. That lady across the street is throwing away yet another one of her children.”

You know, I do hate it when I have to pick black banana peels out of my kids’ hair and scrape chewed gum off their knees. Gross.

For the record, I’m not as casual about spiritual trash. Letting sin sit around too long is so much worse than that milk in the bottom of the jug. We need to love right living and hate the evil garbage. That’s the only way to live a clean, satisfied, joyful life.

The psalmist says it so well in Psalm 97:10-12: “People who love the Lord hate evil. The Lord watches over those who follow him and frees them from the power of the wicked. Light shines on those who do right; joy belongs to those who are honest. Rejoice in the LORD, you who do right. Praise his holy name,” (NCV).

There is rejoicing every time we choose right over evil. That trash-free life? It’s a life overflowing with joy!

Oh, and you might be happy to know that overflowing joy does NOT draw flies.

Rhonda Rhea rrhea@juno.com