The Great Sin of Ironing

A friend of ours told us a story today of some students who were kicked out of their dorms. Their heinous crime, you ask? Ironing their clothes. It seems after being told the simple rule of "no ironing allowed" (uses too much electricity), and then later warned, the boys were caught awake in the wee hours of the morning, ironing their clothes. Nothing good happens after midnight... in this case, nothing good is a flat front and starched collar. Yes indeed, the young men had snuck out of bed way before the light of the morning and were secretly ironing their clothes. But upon being caught, immediate expulsion from the dorm followed.

While listening to this story, I couldn't help but laugh. I pictured these student boys sneaking out of bed and rousing the rascals to get together for their illegal ironing party. Then I thought back to my college days. I remember getting a new iron as a graduation gift from high school just before going to college. I then remember opening that brand new iron 5 years later, shortly after getting married. I had taken it to college, just never pulled it off the shelf in my closet nor out of the box! To this day I think I've used it about 5 times.

Maybe if my school had had a "no ironing" policy... We did have a "no George Foreman Grill" policy, and I had one of those in my dorm room. I mean honestly, who on a full meal plan living in a single room with a fridge the size of a foot locker needs a George Foreman Grill?

Paul said that we were all born into the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12-14). Remember the tree? How hard is it to eat from every tree but that one? How hard is it to wear wrinkled clothes? How hard is it to eat of any meats but those grilled on a George Foreman Grill?

Our son is now 6 months old, almost. He loves it when I read my Bible. Those little crinkly pages seem the perfect toy: noisy, tearable, and incredibly tasty. He's learned now that there are many little collections of bound volumes of paper. He's also learned that when he grabs one and digs into the pages, Mommy and Daddy respond with a sharp "NO" and removal of said temptation. Yet whenever a book is in eyesight, it's the destination he chooses. Is the book really that much more fun than the red truck? Or soft rattle frog with crinkly wings and rubber wings? No, but it is forbidden!

The Bible teaches us that until we are given a new spirit, our old one will lead us toward destruction (Romans 8:1-11, 2 Corinthians 5:17). We will naturally choose the forbidden... until we have a new spirit. Not because it's any better, but just because that's what we do. However through Christ, not only is forgiveness of sins found, but also an entirely new spirit. One that shows us a worthwhile way to live and path to take which glorifies God, and actually makes doing good not only possible, but natural!