Dusting Floors

We have a lot of hard wood floors in our house.
I have always loved them…loved the warm color…loved the “country feel” in all the rooms.

They are also easy to clean.
I have a dust mop, that with a little spray, acts like a magnet…finding the dust that inevitably collects around the edges or in the corners.

What I never realized, until I had young children, was that the spray on the dust mop made the floors slippery.
The first time it happened was by accident.
Someone came downstairs in their socks, ran into the kitchen for breakfast and slipped on the newly dust-mopped floors.

Instead of tears, there were giggles.
This was fun!
You could start at one end of the foyer and slide to the other.
You could be at one end of the upstairs hallway and slide past the rooms.

It became a matter of semantics.
There was a “no running” in the house rule…but this wasn’t running…this was sliding!
When socks finally had grippers on the bottom, the game lost its charm.

I was dust mopping the floors the other day and smiled to myself at the vivid memory.

Sliding on dust mopped floors may be fun, but sliding on slippery ground is not.
God talks about this in His word.
The age old dilemma: Why do the wicked always seem to prosper?

Psalm 73 deals with this very issue.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not  plagued by human ills...This is what the wicked are like – always carefree, they increase in wealth.
(Psalm 73:2-5, 12)

Do the wicked always prosper?
If you look at their life in the short term, with a “live for today” attitude, it appears so.
Sometimes, the carefree life of the wicked looks almost temptingly enviable.
But not in the light of eternity.

Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence…When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground, you cast them down to ruin. (Psalm 73:13, 16-18)

Looking around is never an appropriate perspective.
We are looking through a human lens with its very limited view.
Looking up is the desired direction.
We are looking at things from God’s perspective with eternity in view.

Looking at the short term will get us in trouble.
It is like wearing socks with no grippers.
It might seem like a fun game for a while, but there is potential for danger.

Lament, like we find in Psalm 73, will turn to praise, when we change our focus.
The prosperity of the wicked looks very different when we enter God’s sanctuary.
We begin to see things the way God sees them.

Asaph, who wrote this psalm, realized this.
Yet, I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. (Psalm 73:23-25)

The fleeting things, that the wicked possess, will slip right through their fingers.
It is chaff that the wind will blow away.
The world goes after the chaff, but sadly, they don’t see it for what it is.

We do!
No slippery ground for us!
Keeping our eyes on eternity will keep us secure on the Rock.
The solid Rock…our Lord Jesus.
We are His and He is ours…a treasured possession.

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds. (Psalm 73:28)