I
met up with an old acquaintance this past weekend at the campground- one I was
not pleased to see. If I get too
close to her she strikes out at me with a vengeance like there is bad blood between
us, yet I’ve done nothing to deserve her acerbic temperament. Once more she decided to torment me with
lingering distress. Normally I get along
with all those I meet, but not this one; I fully admit to having a huge dislike
of her. She’s like the old adversary of
Batman, you know, the one who wore green leaves and called herself Poison
Ivy.
Oh, wait… that’s her actual name!
Her leaves of three simply don’t agree with me… ever. The problem is I didn’t really know what she
looked like until this weekend, and though others claimed it was not her, after
the telltale rash with itch appeared around my ankles with a few scattered on my legs, I
knew she had attacked me once again. (Now
armed with the knowledge of her appearance, I hope to avoid her touch completely.) The funny thing is that after researching
remedies to help with the intense itch I have discovered some interesting
facts:
-The
rash is called "urushiol-induced contact dermatitis"; urushiol being the chemical
released by all parts of the plant and
which people consider poisonous.
-The
oil is not actually poisonous at all.
The problem lies with us. Fifty
to eighty-five percent of us are allergic to the chemical and therefore react
to it (usually by itchy and/or painful rash).
-You can
get the telltale rash by touching the plant or touching something that has
touched the plant (for up to 7 years). This means it can be transferred from one
person to another by clothes or skin. It is particularly dangerous if inhaling the smoke from burning it.
-Spots
that come out later haven’t spread from scratching or such (the oil is already absorbed), but previous
contact with the oils took longer to rash out or newer exposure from oil transferred.
So, what have I learned from this experience? Wear protective clothing in setting up
camping gear and then bag it all to wash in hot water. Wash with hot soapy water to get off any
urishiol oils on my skin within 5 minutes of possible contact. Treat it like the plague and avoid the
wretched leaves of three (the middle stem is longer). Hopefully I will never get it again.
I
think the same rules would apply well in the area of sin. Wear protective clothing while in the world
(Ep. 6:11-18). It isn’t that we shouldn’t be there, but keep
the ungodly oils from penetrating our skin.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…” (Rm.
12:2). Once tainted by sin, wash with
hot soapy water- Jesus, the Living Water- for the blood of Jesus is the only
thing that can wash away our sins. “…the
blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1Jh. 1:7) and we can go to
Him to confess our sins and receive forgiveness (v.9).
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But of course, the best thing to do is avoid sin like the plague- just
don’t go near it to start with.
Recognize it for what it is- bondage* and death*- and then stay away
from it. “Abstain from every appearance
of evil.” (1Th. 5:22) No matter how good it feels at the time, or
if it feels indifferent, the touching of sin leaves lasting repercussions that
could cause us much grief. We should
avoid it just like the plague… or poison ivy! (Rm. 13:14; 1Cr. 6:18; 10:14; 2Tm. 2:22; Hb. 12:1; Gl. 5:16)
*Whoever practices sin is the
slave of sin. Jh. 8:34
*when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is fully
formed, brings forth death. Jm. 1:15