Cockroaches seem to be a part of life here in Madagascar. Roaches in the shower, par for the course. Roaches on the table, apparently a normal occurrence. My recent experience with roaches in the hotel room is deemed quite normal by most people that I've interacted with here. Just a few days ago I would watch in horror as a giant roach would slither across the floor of the restaurant; now I'm almost oblivious.
Tonight at dinner I watched a massive one calmly slither across the floor of a very nice place without giving it a second thought. Yes, it's true. I'm becoming hardened to the presence of roaches. It no longer seems to bother me. However, one story did.
A friend of mine here in Madagascar sleeps with earplugs. During the night she headed to the restroom. At some point she realizes that one of her earplugs has fallen out. Hoping to find it before returning to bed, she takes a quick glance at the floor around her. Still somewhat groggy and not wanting to turn on the light, she sees what seems to be to her an ear plug on the floor. Without giving it a second thought she reaches down to pick up the ear plug and put it back in its proper place: her ear.
In so doing she lets out a scream realizing that the earplug has legs and is very much alive inside her hand. I don't know about you, but I shuddered when I heard the story. It was too close to home for me after my recent experience with the roaches in bed the other night.
The mental picture of a cockroach in your ear really doesn't sit right. How absurd! Can you see someone walking around with roaches hanging out of their ears? Yuck! However, the more I've thought about it, the more I'm concerned that this is actually what many people do. Of course, I don't mean naturally. Rather, spiritually. When I think of the ear I think of hearing. Spiritually speaking we are responsible for maintaining a posture of "hearing."
We do this through prayer, worship, the Word, godly counsel, accountability, fasting, obedience to the Lord, walking in love towards our brothers, etc... When one or more of these elements begins to falter it is easy to loose spiritual equilibrium. Instead of following the voice of the Good Shepherd we reach for other sources of direction and inspiration- men's opinions, cultural values, our own thoughts and ideas, life's pressures, etc... None of which are necessarily evil, but when they become the things directing and filling our hearing then I would call them cockroaches. They become filters perverting true hearing.
Jesus says multiple times "let him who has ears hear". This is a call to develop the capacity He has given us to hear His voice. In this hour may we be those who hear, obey, and rest in His voice. Hoping you have cockroach free ears! SK
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