Off With Your Head!
Just about every morning you’ll find me watering and deadheading flowers. The term “deadheading” may sound brutal, but it simply means to snip off the flowers that have finished blooming.
The visible perk to deadheading is obvious. It gives the garden a tidy look. You see only fresh flowers blooming — nothing brown, dried up, or crispy. (Dinner, anyone?)
The not-so-visible perks, however, are hard at work below the surface. When a spent flower is removed, the plant is “tricked” as it continues to pour its energy into producing more flowers. Continual deadheading also helps to cut down on diseases and insects, making for a much healthier plant overall.
This morning, I couldn’t help but think of how the procedure hits home. When I fail to “deadhead” the sin in my life on a regular basis I am, in essence, allowing the production of those things God desires to create in and through me become sluggish and perhaps even non-existent.
I like David’s method of “deadheading.” It’s found in Psalm 139:23, 24:
I trust only God to reveal all things – both the hidden and the obvious – and then it is my responsibility to say to my sin: “Off with your head!”
