There's Always A Sock Under The Bed

by Michael Fortson, Canyon Creek Church of Christ, Temple, Texas

Published in the Temple Daily Telegram September 29, 2007

I’m not a “neat freak.”  It’s true that I enjoy a fairly orderly office where most things are nicely arranged and somewhat clean, but I often have a cluttered desk and piles of things here and there.  Nevertheless, I strive to keep a semblance of order.  Although I haven’t yet found it, I am sure there is a Bible text that says, “Cleanliness is next to godliness!” 

When we were raising our four children (two girls and two boys), they all had chores and responsibilities.  One responsibility, of course, was keeping their rooms clean and neat.  Saturday was inspection time, so sometime in the morning they would have to clean their rooms.  At the appointed time, I would check to make sure they had done the work. I recall one time when I inspected my son’s room.  When I opened the door, everything looked great... the bed was made, the floor vacuumed, clothes put up, etc.  But I wasn’t satisfied, so I got on hands and knees and peaked under the bed.  Lo and behold, there was a dirty sock under the bed!  Just one sock, mind you, but there it was!  Ignoring the great job he had done on everything else, I focused on that one dirty sock.  Rather than praise him for all the good work, I picked up on his one little flaw: that sock under the bed.  As I look back on that time, I am of course, ashamed.  

It’s sad that we often judge people by the little, usually insignificant, mistakes they make, rather than see the big picture that shows great success.  The Bible urges us to focus on the good rather than the bad.  Phil. 4:8, “...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

The thing that makes this so important is that none of us likes to be judged by our few flaws, which we know well enough.  We want to be known for our primary character and intent.  So Jesus says, “Do not judge or you too will be judged.”  Matt. 7:1.  Thank God for grace!  Aren’t you glad that because of Jesus, your sins... mistakes... are forgiven?  Otherwise, every blunder you make would be counted against you (II Cor. 5:19).  And we are urged to treat one another just as God has treated us.  Rom. 15:7, “Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

An old preacher story tells of a man who joined a monastery and took a vow of silence.  He was allowed to say only two words every ten years.  At the end of the first ten years, his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?”  The monk replied, “Food bad.”  After another ten years, he was asked again if he had anything to say.  He said, “Bed hard.”  Ten more years went by, and he was given another chance to speak.  He responded, “I quit!”  His superior said, “Doesn’t surprise me a bit.  You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here!”

May God forgive us for seeing the negative instead of the positive, and for being negative rather than positive in our lives.  And when you find just one sock under the bed, rejoice, and put it in the dirty clothes hamper yourself!

Michael Fortson