I was recently reading a book entitled "Small church essentials." In it there was a fable that was referenced. It goes like this:
A man goes to visit an old friend who lives in a cabin in the woods. By the time he arrives, it is pouring rain and he's soaking wet. When his friend answers the door, the man jumps inside, glad to get out of the rain, only to find that the cabin roof is leaking and water is dripping everywhere.
The newcomer asks about the leaky roof and all the buckets catching water.
"Oh that," responds the host. "I barely notice it any more. You just get used to the rain in this part of the country."
"Why don't we go up on the roof and fix the leaks? I'd be happy to help," offers the newcomer.
"No," his friend replies. "It's dangerous on the roof in the rain. Plus it's getting dark. Let's do it later."
The man agrees. After a drippy, damp night of fitful sleep, they woke up to a beautiful sunny day. The visitor turns to his friend and says, "Hey buddy let's grab some breakfast and get that roof repaired!"
To which his friend responds, "Why? it's not leaking now."
This fable holds some valuable truths for us today.
First we often try to mask problems in our life without really addressing the underlying problems. We often have sins or issues in our lives and try and downplay or minimize the affect they have on us. Joshua 7 tells us of the story of Achan. He took of some of the spoils for himself from Jericho. What seems like not that big of a deal, God takes drastic measures to rid the camp of the sin and it cost Achan his life. Maybe we need to take drastic measures and not put a band aid on something that may require stitches or even surgery.
Second, sometimes the conditions have become so bad and we are so used to it that we become immune. Hebrews 3:13 tells us that we can be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We can become so accustomed to sin that our hearts become hard and we no longer realize the critical nature of the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Third, when the problems of life surround us we will make any excuse to not address it. When the rain was pouring in the roof the man did not want to address the issue, but rather push it off till later. A quote from the book says "When is the best time to fix a leaky roof? When the roof is not leaking." What leaks do you need to address today? Address them before the rain comes pouring in. Notice the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24-26 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. Notice that the men built the house and then the storms came. Based on how they built the house it either stood through the storms of life or it fell. Do not wait for the storms of life to solidify your home, your foundation, it will more than likely be too late.
While this fable may seem comical and seem like common sense, I'm afraid that our lives are often reflective of the ideas we have seen. May we all be encouraged by these words and rid ourselves of sin and problems and take the time now to solidify our foundation before the storms of life come rolling in.