The Fly in My Soup

Waiter, There's A Fly in My Soup... so starts a thousand old jokes. A quick search via google turned up 244,000 links to "fly in my soup". I didn't check them all, but I think the basis of the humor in that joke is that the fly is unexpected. But isn't that silly? How many flies are there in the world? And what do flies tend to search out? And where is that substance often found? And so out of the kitchen of the restaurant (if you answered the questions correctly), is it any surprise, then, that one might find a fly in his soup? But ... we are dismayed by it's innocent presence. I am sometimes unhappy to find a fly in my faith. A pesky little critter that just does not belong there. Maybe it's a sin that I really do not want to acknowledge. Perhaps it is a habit that I would prefer to continue to indulge. It could be a judgmental spirit by which I lift myself above others. It might be something simple like a word or two I need to erase from my vocabulary. Overall, things look pretty good, except for that fly in the faith. I need not be surprised that it's there. After all, the natural tendency of sin is to make its presence known in every life. But, I'm not surprised. I knew it was there. And still I ate heartily. At some time, though, I need to see the fly for what it is .... ask God to take it from the soup, so I can nourish myself on something truly worthwhile and helpful. Of course the fly in my faith is sometimes me ... and I need mostly to be cleansed.