Dirty Hands

As a mother, I am forever telling our children to "Wash your hands...with soap and water!  Get rid of the germs!"  I wash my hands at least a thousand times a day, it seems.  We expect others to wash their hands.  We hope others wash their hands.  Companies pride themselves in the variety of products they come up with to encourage people to wash their hands and keep clean.  When a baby comes to live at your house, wet wipes become a parent's best friend...for life.  They are invaluable!  Cleaning products are now sold already on the disposable cloths.  Packaged convenience with a flip of the wrist!  No longer do we need soap and water, because there is waterless, antibacterial cleaner.  We can get rid of the germs on the go!  Everywhere you go, there are hand sanitizer pumps mounted on the walls.  Stores even offer wipes to sanitize shopping carts.  Mothers carry sanitizer bottles in their purses ready to do combat with germs at a moment's notice.  We are passionate about the cleanliness of hands and the absence of germs.  When I look around just our home with five people and a fuzzy, white dog, I see many things that our hands touch...spreading germs doesn't take very long!
I've been wondering lately, why don't we spend just as much time cleaning our spiritual hands, so to speak.  Are we just as vigilant of the worldly germs that affect us on a daily basis?  Do we invest as much time and effort in wiping those germs out?  How aggressive am I being when it comes to cleaning up the effects of Satan's lies?  Am I confessing and forsaking my wrong choices?  Am I calling sin...sin?  Psalm 51:2
So often, we serve the Lord with dirty hands and think nothing of it.  We have convinced ourselves that a little dirt won't hurt us.  Those germs are not that big of a deal.  And pretty soon, we are trying to eat from His table with filthy hands wondering why we don't have an appetite for the things of the Lord or why things don't "taste good".  Dirty hearts lead to dirty hands.  We can be as busy as we want for the Lord, but when our hearts are filled with things of this world and unconfessed sin, our service is not pleasing to the Lord.  Our hands are dirty.  There are some issues in our life that require more work and attention than just a quick brush of our hands, as if to remove crumbs or dust.   When I look at people who are around me, I know I wouldn't serve them food or drink without washing my hands first.  I should remember the same actions when I am serving the Lord in various ways.  I need to "Wash up, and get rid of the germs...first!  Don't serve with dirty hands!"