Pimp my trashcan: When Jesus doesn't care if you cuss or tithe

I don’t have the best house or lawn on my street, but I did have the best trashcan by far.

I’ll spare you the detailed description of what it looked like and just put it this way; It was an IPHONE of trashcans in a world of Zack Morris brick phones.

And yes I often “accidentally” left my trashcan out for a few days after ‘pick-up’ just to show off...

But then the unthinkable happened. The city issued mandatory standard trashcans for everyone consequently eliminating both my elite trashcan status and the ability to judge my neighbors eating habits every time rodents rip through their trash.

Disappointment? No.  Opportunity! To do what? Pimp my trashcan. I know. Ridiculous.

But just imagine the ultimate trashcan...
with headlights, a radio and sub woofers.  
Add Gold-plated rims.
5’ Flat screen HDTV.
Interior carpet.
Leather hand rails.
Big gulp cup-holders.
Mini fridge.
And to top it off, remote control voice activated steering.
BOOM.
Instant trashcan superiority.

Its a great idea and you know it.

Ok fine, its a dumb idea but only because of the trash.

And only because no matter how much I pimp my trashcan, it’s still gonna be nasty from whats inside [gross left over chinese food and a weeks worth of “dog business”, which I assure u is no small business when u have 2 Saint Bernard's.].    

Decking the outside of your trash container is silly. Makes sense. Now lets do a spiritual flip.

How often do we try to fine tune or clean up the outside version of us?

No cuss words.
Attend church regularly.
Pay tithe  
Do quiet times. e.t.c

Great plan. All good things.

Only problem is I don’t think Jesus cares if we stop cussing/tithe e.t.c if all we are doing is hiding trash.

No.

Jesus wants more than to just pimp your ‘outside’ or install filters in your life. He wants to clean out the trash. To give you a new heart. He wants to sanctify you and true sanctification operates at the heart level.

In order words, Jesus doesn’t want you to just pay tithes. He wants you to BE a generous person.

There’s a big difference. The latter unlike the former is impossible without addressing the greed [trash] that lives in most our hearts.

In the same token Jesus doesn’t want you to just filter your words and call someone a *freaking idiot instead of a *F@#$%*& idiot.

He cares more about the anger in your heart. Or the impatience that often cause me to lash out at my wife and daughter with clean filtered words.

So, while its noble to watch your language and pay tithes, lets remember that sin is a heart issue lest we end up with a community of tithe paying greedy people who filter the anger within them with clean words. e.t.c e.t.c

You clean the outside of the cup and dish but inside they are full of greed and self indulgence. Blind Pharisees! first clean the inside of the cup and dish and then the outside also will be clean. -Matthew 23

its sometimes subtle and can be tricky to spot but i think if we are honest, we've all got some trash we're hiding in clean containers.

For instance, this Christmas season is revealing some greed in my heart. I don't really need anything but I covet tons.

I can cover that up by plastering "He is the reason for the season" all over my outside. I can also justify my sinful consumerism by focusing on the sacrifice I made on the missions trip I went on a year ago.

Or I can let God dig up the nonsense in me that makes me long for things I dont need. I can ask the Holy Spirit to make me more content and thankful for what I have.

So what about you, how have u been trying to 'pimp' your outsides? What heart issue might God be dealing with?

Loved this post? There's more. Join hundreds of others and subscribe to the blog so you don't miss a thing.