INFECTION

Y’all, I’ve had two colds in the past three months. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but for me it can be. If I don’t treat my colds early and effectively, they grow into monsters that do me in for a month or more.

That’s what happened in June. I came home from a trip sick. I mean, sick. Sicker than I’ve been for a long time. And that cold progressed into a wicked chest cough that hung around for the rest of the month, even after my doctor prescribed an antibiotic and a heavy-duty cough suppressant (which wasn’t cheap, let me tell you). I mean, people, IT SUCKS.

Then the first morning of the second week of school, I woke up with the inkling of soreness in my throat and felt a bit of panic. Thankfully, because I was home this time at that first hint of a symptom, I was able to start taking my Zinc, Selenium, and Vitamin C immediately. That’s my happy little cocktail that seems to kick these little infections out the door if I start it early. The cold came . . . but it was very minor and gone in a week.

I’m not telling you all this to elicit your sympathy or to market my anti-cold elixir. I’m telling you about it because of a remark I heard somewhere – before summer even started and the illnesses set in:

Sin is your infection.

Whoa . . . I typed that into my brainstorming document because I thought there’s something deep there . . . I need to ponder that some more.

And then I got genuinely infected. Twice.

I am not a science-y person; I don’t know a lot about the nature of an infection. But a quick Google search brings up these pertinent facts:

    - An infection is caused by the invasion of a pathogen, which uses a body as a safe harbor where it can sustain itself, reproduce, and colonize.

    - The symptoms we experience (fever, runny nose, cough) are the effects of our immune system trying to get rid of the pathogen – annoying as they are, they are the weapons of the good guys.

    - We prevent infections by avoiding contact with pathogens . . . but also by building up our body’s immunity to pathogens.

So, here’s what God is teaching me from my infections and my brief Google science study:

1) Sin is not something to play with. It is a pathogen. It will do serious damage if allowed to make a home, grow, and spread.

2) Fighting the sin – getting rid of the pathogen we’ve let in – is not pain-free. But that pain is short-lived . . . and a better pain to endure than the consequences of the sin.

3) In a fallen world, I cannot completely avoid contact with the pathogen sin (and if I’m meant to be light to that fallen world, avoiding contact defeats that purpose entirely). But I should build up as much immunity as I can through exposure to truth and an intimate relationship with God.

I’m trying very hard to train myself to see the little inklings of sinfulness when they start in my heart so I can quickly drown them with a good cocktail of truth and prayer and godly fellowship that reminds me of what’s better.

Cuz, y’all – these pesky little pathogens are nothing to play with. TRUST ME.