I have a recycling problem. Sometimes, I allow the amount of cardboard and shopping bags to grow into a small mountain before I haul them off. The cardboard is not a huge embarrassment because I can just pull to a bin where everyone else with the same problem throws their stuff. We tend not to judge the amount of cardboard each person has hanging out of a car or a truck. However, plastic bags are a little different. You have to find a place where you can take your bags, generally a store. Then, you carry the whole load through the parking lot to a designated bin.
This past Monday, I found that Walmart still recycles plastic bags. It used to have a bin in the doorway where you could leave your bags. It has since been moved. I asked the greeter if Walmart still did recycling. She told me they did and that I could find the bin at customer service. I told her thank you and asked her not to judge me when I bring all these bags back into Walmart. She looked at me a little funny, but she did not know how many bags I was bringing.
When we come together as the Lord’s church, people bring their own embarrassments with them. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23). We all continue to fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are all in need of a Savior because our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and bring us death (Romans 6:23). We should not judge our brothers and sisters over sins they have committed because we also need forgiveness. Instead, we should help them carry their load (Galatians 6:1-2). We should encourage them to continue in their faith and not to become disconnected from the body (Hebrews 12:12-13). All souls are precious to the Lord, both those who have it all together and also those who need help. Let us all be mindful to encourage each other in our walk with the Lord!
