“Honey, can you please come wash my right armpit so I can get ready for work?”  Sad, but true, this has been a recent conversation in our household lately!  Seriously, I don’t make this stuff up!  The truth is, we all have stinky armpits at one time or another…come on…admit it, yours stink too sometimes!

I was thinking about this scenario today in my warped little mind and related it to our Christian walks.  Some of us are walking around with stinky armpits every day and think no one is noticing.   We may have lived stinky for so long, we may not even notice anymore.  Rest assured,  those who pass by us at any given time will notice though!  Some might tell us about our odor and others may hold their nose, look the other way, and run away as fast as they can before taking another breath of fresh air.

Others know their armpits stink, but can’t reach them like I can’t right now after elbow surgery, and are afraid or embarrassed to ask for  some help in getting it cleaned and smelling good.  Therefore, there is a wafty trail of body odor around them that is slightly detectible when you get real close.  Perhaps it’s a hidden sin or addiction they just can’t take care of themselves.  You know it’s there, you just can’t put your finger on it.

Others walk around all week without a bath and on Saturday night right before going to bed, they take their weekly soak and scrub those  pits good so everyone at church the next day won’t know they were stinky at all throughout the week.

And then there are those who religiously wash every day, whether they need it or not to ensure they are clean and fresh all the time!  The ones who take time with God every day to “clean up” the “smells” in their lives, and put on some fresh garments to start their day out right!

Which one are you?  I guess misery loves company so if I can’t wash my right armpit right now without assistance, I want to ensure there are others on this path alongside me!  LOL! Seriously.  Which one are you?  Is your life stinky?  Is someone else’s that you know stinky but you just haven’t wanted to get close enough to help as you just bathed this morning and are smelling good?  Are you a Sunday Christian?  Or are you the one who’s  trying to do the right thing, but just needs a little help?

I’d like to think that we could all be the Christian who is clean and smelling good every day.  A Christian that stands out in the crowd as being different—clean, smelling good, and something everyone else around would want to be.  One that isn’t afraid to get near the stinky people because they understand that if they didn’t wash daily, they’d be just as stinky as them.  Hopefully we’re Christians who know how to clean up, stay clean and aren’t afraid to share our secret with others.

The choice is ours everyday…will we wash or will we be stinky?  It’s all up to you!  Don’t be afraid to ask for a little help if you need it.  God will send someone with His love and compassion to help you through the stinky times, without judging your current condition.

If nothing else from this silly illustration, I would like you to never be able to wash your armpit again without being reminded of God’s  grace–where you were without Christ, where you are now, all while prayerfully considering who you can share God’s hope and redemption with today!  Be blessed and stink-free!