Screening out trouble

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

You can put up a fence to keep cattle in a field, but sooner or later, one is going to get out. You can electrify the fence or put barbed wire on it, but eventually your going to have to chase an escaped animal.

You can put screens on your windows to keep insects out, but bugs make their way in anyway. You can keep the windows shut and run the AC, but insects still manage to find their way inside.

Vacuuming your house kicks up dust. Bag or bagless, every vacuum cleaner lets some dust escape into the air. Even a HEPA filter cannot guarantee that cleaning won’t make you sneeze.

We try to insulate ourselves from unpleasant things. Maybe you’re tired of getting bad news, so you turn off the TV and cancel your subscription to the paper. But there’s no escaping bad news when your spouse comes home from work stressed, or a child shows you a report card filled with Ds.

We try to shield ourselves from temptation to do wrong. But where can a recovering alcoholic go and not see a bar or liquor store? Where can a dieter go shopping and not face all sorts of candy at the check out line? How can a teen, hormones on fire, go on the Internet and avoid stumbling across a pornographic website?

Years ago, Simon and Garfunkel recorded "I am a Rock." It told the story of a man so hurt by failed love that he retreated from human contact, becoming a hermit in his personal library. He especially enjoyed books of poetry. The irony is that most poetry is written about love, so even a library could not offer protection from matters of the heart.

Nothing can completely protect us from aggravation, harm, and temptation. Thankfully, Jesus offers to help. He screens out things that we can’t handle and helps us deal with the rest. When we are hurt, He comforts us; when we yield to temptation, He forgives us. The world can be a nasty place; we can give thanks that Jesus has overcome the world.