Muddy Water

For Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Proverbs 25:26

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

You are hot and thirsty. You hear the splashing of water; you look ahead and see the fountain. Eager to splash the water on your face and drink, you run up to it only to find it polluted. The disappointment is great. What held such promise has proven to be false. So it is with the righteous who give in to wickedness, who compromise with the wicked.

We know what to expect from a mud hole. It is the fountain, the spring that had held out hope to us and then dashed our expectations. All the more reason then for we who are righteous in Christ must strive to be the spring of fresh water to our neighbors. They see in us the Spirit of Christ. They hear us speak of the Living Water of the gospel and testify that we drink of it and that it has made all the difference in us. Then we need to remain true.

We may not use the excuse of our unbelieving neighbors. We cannot excuse bad behavior on being tired or having a bad day. We cannot "get even" when harmed. We cannot retaliate. We cannot appeal to what anyone or anything has done to us as an excuse for our muddy behavior. For we are to be springs of water to the thirsty and fountains for the weary. If they come to us and find us polluted in their time of need, then we muddy the very gospel we boast of.

Because you do not know what this day will hold and who will be watching and needing you to be fresh water, pray for the Spirit to keep you clean throughout this day. Many are weary and thirsty, and it may very well be you they look to for the Living Water.