Shut the door, keep out the...birds?

I recently visited a friend who's name, for privacy's sake, I will not reveal.  Let's just call him "Alfred".  

Alfred has a problem. 

Specifically, Alfred has a bird problem.

Alfred bought two beautiful, white birds (I don't know what kind as I am not a bird afficianado) and a large cage and placed them in his spare bedroom.  At first, life with the birds was grand.  He enjoyed his new, musical friends and cared for them as any good pet owner would.  Then one day, Alfred returned home from work to find that the birds had managed to escape from their cage and had taken over the spare bedroom.  Alfred returned them to their home, hoping this would not become an issue.

It did.

Not only did the birds escape on a regular basis but on the occasion when Alfred did not completely close the bedroom door, he came home to find birds in his kitchen, birds in his bathroom, and consequently....bird poop scattered about the house.

What I find most interesting about this story is the current state of Alfred's birds.  They have taken over the spare room.  They perch on closet doors, window blinds, furniture and the like.  They use the floor and window sill as a bathroom and I can't help but imagine that as they squawk at their owner (who seems to have resigned himself to never using his spare room again) they are really mocking him and his feeble attempt to cage them.

Sure, Alfred could remedy the situation if he so desired but not without some time and effort...and lots of water, bleach and possibly paint.

I was immediately struck by Alfred's predicament because I could relate to it.  No, birds have not taken over my spare bedroom but there are so many instances in my life where I encountered a problem or predicament and instead of resolving it immediately, I simply shut the door and vowed to "fix it" later.

"I'll clean out my van later," I say.  Now my van is often mistaken for a dumpster on wheels.

"I'm going to organize my files soon." Heaven help me if I have to locate an old bill or receipt.

"I'll start paying off those credit cards next month."  Now I'm faced with a "bird poop" load of debt.

You get the idea.

We let things slide, thinking we will get to it soon and before we know it, "the birds" have taken over.  And yes, this is a sad place to be, especially when you look back and realize how easily it could all have been avoided.  Had Alfred fixed the cage the first day, he would still be able to use his spare room.  

But when does our "bird issue" go from sad to outright dangerous?  In my opinion, it's when the issue is a spiritual one.

When we allow sin - any sin - to creep into our lives without immediately eradicating it, we are giving Satan a foothold.  I'm here to tell you from experience that the devil is a lot like Alfred's birds.  He will quickly take over before you even know what happened and he leaves a lot of "crap" in his wake.  The one difference is, Satan can't be so easily relegated to one room or one area of our lives.  Sin, if left unchecked, unrepented for, can spread like a cancer.

With the arrival of this New Year, I can't help but think about resolutions and how I'd like to work on things like my cleanliness, organization and debt.  But an even better resolution, for all of us, would be to work  on nipping sin the bud and not giving the devil a foothold.  In 2013, may those of us who call ourselves "followers of Christ" live openly and unashamedly - spare bedrooms and all.