Rottenness of Unbelief

Today I made a disgusting discovery while putting potatoes away.  As I pulled out the basket where we keep them in a cupboard out of sunlight, the foul smell of decay hit my nostrils at the same time I saw a potato which had begun to rot.  I quickly carried the basket outside and deposited the potato in the bin.  Then I set about cleaning the cupboard and basket of any residue.

I found the damp spot inside the basket was quite small but moisture had seeped in a much larger area underneath.  I scrubbed the area with detergent, rinsed it thoroughly with water, then left the basket in the sun to dry.  It was surprising how the basket in a dry condition was strong and robust, yet moisture introduced by a spoiled potato in a matter of days caused areas of the basket to dissolve.  Had the bacteria-filled fluid remained longer, the whole basket might have been ruined.

Though the situation involved an inedible potato, ironically it provided food for thought.  The Christian's faith in Jesus Christ is a most practical thing, a gift from God that strengthens and enables us to serve our Saviour with gladness.  Faith is not only necessary but is useful as we take steps in obedience to God.  Like a rotten potato contacted the basket and began to weaken it, so doubt and unbelief can weaken our faith.  Jesus said faith in Him has the ability to move mountains, yet when we allow unbelief to permeate our minds we are the ones who move away from reliance upon God and His word.

The potato was secretly, silently rotting away in darkness, and so it is with unbelief in our own minds and hearts.  Unbelief is a sin which is the source of countless other sins like envy, fear, worry, lust, pride and malice.  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:30, "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones."  It was only a matter of time before the rotten potato was discovered, and it was important to remove the potato from the basket and throw it away rather than hoping in vain it would just disappear.  One bad potato put other potatoes and the basket itself in jeopardy of becoming useless, and thus it needed to be promptly and personally dealt with.

So it is with unbelief.  As a rotting potato is attended by offensive sights and smells, so unbelief reveals itself in our thoughts, words and deeds.  Unbelief is marked by refusal to trust and obey God, even as the children of Israel would not enter the land of promise due to unbelief.  They would not enter in and thus could not enter in, for faith in God was required to advance in obedience.  Left in a cupboard every potato will go bad, and thus is it not a matter of "if" but "when" we will discover unbelief has crept into our hearts.  Bringing sin into God's marvelous light by confession and repentance is God's prescribed way to restoration by His grace.  Unlike a basket that wears out over time our faith can grow and be strengthened more than ever as we obey.