Dirt Gets a Bad Rap

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. — John 3:16,17

Dirt gets a bad rap.

Moms tell their kids not to touch dirt, shouldn’t eat dirt, don’t go near dirt, and keep the dirt outside. So we’ve come up with anti-bacterial cleaner to take away the dirt, antiseptic to cleanse the dirt, and anti-dirt to rid the world of dirt. I want a tee shirt that says: “Don’t Like Dirt? Try Living Without It.”

How did dirt get such a bad reputation? If you think about it, we couldn’t survive without dirt. Dirt is what plants grow in, bushes and trees rely on, bugs live in, and the eco-system depends on. It’s a big responsibility and one that dirt doesn’t take lightly. We take dirt for granted and snub our noses at it. I wouldn’t want dirt’s job and neither would the next guy.

What’s all the fuss about dirt, you might wonder? It all came to my mind while walking past a farm field near our Air Force base in England recently. The soil had been tilled, rain had soaked it thoroughly and the smell rose pungently. In fact the lumps of black earth were beautiful. That’s when the thought occurred to me that dirt shouldn’t be dismissed. At that moment there were unseen creatures depending on that soil to live. Beneath, seeds were beginning to send a web of wiry roots deep into its depth. On top you couldn’t tell anything was happening, yet life was beginning and crops were forming. Dirt shouldn’t get such a bad rap.

Reminds me of Jesus in a way. He’s described as being without beauty and form. In fact He wasn’t much to look at. (“. . . he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2b). He got a bad rap while He walked the earth and this attitude continues today—even from those who profess they don’t believe in Him (“He was a man despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3)

What’s all the fuss about Jesus, you might wonder? We’re beginning to see tell-tale signs that some folks are coming up with anti-baptismal cleaner to wipe Jesus away, antiseptic cleanser to remove His name from every post and place. We’re being taught “don’t touch Jesus, don’t go near Jesus, and whatever you do don’t preach Jesus,” all in the name of tolerance. What I’m wondering is how did Jesus get such a bad reputation when our nation was founded on Christian principles? If you think about it we can’t survive without Him. Our life, breath, and existence—especially during the challenges of deployment—depend solely on Him. No one else would have taken up His cross and died for the lot of us like He did. Yet we take Him for granted and dismiss His existence. He has a lonely job at the top but one that He doesn’t take lightly. Jesus shouldn’t be given such a bad rap.

I think I’ve changed my mind about the tee shirt. Instead of a “dirt” shirt I want a Jesus outfit. It’ll read: “Don’t Like Jesus? Try Dying Without Him.”

Tell others about Jesus. Their lives might depend on that Good News!

Questions to Share:

1. Who told you about Jesus? What did you do with that information?

2. What do these verses mean to you: Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” — Matthew 10:32,33