It is time for me to get my emissions test. That annual hoop to jump through to ensure that you and your car are doing the best to not pollute the Georgia sky. It’s a hoop jump because, for most of us, it is a necessary component that is a nuisance. It is regularly the item on your to-do list that gets skipped and pushed ahead to the next day—over and over again. And yet, we can all recognize the importance and the greater good of reducing the pollutants we collectively and personally release.
The toxins that our cars can release into the atmosphere have a direct impact on our air quality. With the number of cars on our roadways, these tests help to reduce smog as much as possible.
But, it isn’t just your car that can have toxic emissions.
When was the last time you ran an emissions test on the exhaust of your life?
Your Engine Needs An Exit
Exhaust is created in the firing of an engine. The controlled explosions that send the pistons up and down, create power, and drive your car forward—they also have waste. With each cycle of the engine the bad stuff is forced out. Without an exit strategy built into the engine, it would become a bomb. It is vital that we find safe and efficient ways to get rid of the waste. It is not all that different than the digestive system—albeit a whole lot faster in an engine. Your stomach and intestines soak up all the good stuff to be used to power your body. The bad stuff keeps cycling on through.
What about your spirit? What do you leave in your wake as you walk through your day?
Each one of us encounters hardship, struggle, suffering, and pain. We wade through it, in varying degrees, each day. Life is hard. We all have burdens we bear and we all have curveballs that set us back. We all eat sour grapes from time to time.
It is vital for your overall health to efficiently expel the stress; frustrations; anxiousness; and anger that are a natural part of human life. These expressions and feelings are natural and normal. They are the result of living life. If you don’t have ways to expel of them, then you may turn into a bomb as well. Lord knows I’ve gone off a number of times this past week…
Is Your Spirit Toxic?
We have all been under extra stress lately. We have extra opportunities all around us to be frustrated, anxious, and angry. It is also fair to say that, for many people, the usual ways of coping and expelling the junk of life are less efficient or effective. This doesn’t change the reality, however. You still need to find ways to expel the waste. If you don’t, your whole spirit will become toxic.
The way we can tell a car has become inefficient in expelling waste is through an emissions test. What does yours say? Not for your car, but for your spirit?
As you encounter the bad, do you make it worse? Are the people who come after you going to know you were there and be frustrated by the mess you have left?
“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved…” ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15
As emissions test check the quality (aroma?) of air your car leaves behind, today I invite you to do an emissions test of your spirit to see if it is leaving the aroma of Christ for those you come across.
