Sin in the Corner

The hydrant in the bedroom was the elephant in the living room. A 400-pound, green and yellow fire hydrant apparently spent more than 30 years in the upstairs bedroom of a Yakima couple's home before it was returned recently to the West Valley Fire District, after the man's death.

The wife discovered clippings from the Yakima Herald-Republic that detailed how the hydrant had disappeared in June 1975. She called West Valley Fire Chief Dave Leitch late last month and offered to return it, the newspaper said.

Apparently, the wife asked several times where the hydrant came from, but the husband was defensive and wouldn't answer. So, she just accepted the fact that there was a 400-lb fire hydrant in their home. Personally, I don't think my wife would give up that easily!

Anyway... isn't this how we treat sin in our lives? Sometimes it can be an obvious, 400-lb behemoth that has sat in a corner so long that we forget that it is there. Then, when it is pointed out by someone, we get defensive, pass it off, and let it stay. Sadly, the hydrant was not returned until after the man's death, when his spouse could finally deal with it appropriately. I wonder how many "hydrants" the Lord will have to deal with upon our deaths.