A Summer Free of Fleas

Last summer, at the townhouse I rent, I pet-sat for a lively little dog named Spencer. I wasn’t sure I should agree to pet-sit, since my rental agreement specifies that I am to have no pets. But I thought that pet-sitting for Spencer for an hour or two would do no harm.

Spencer behaved himself well and immediately after he left, I was off on vacation. When I returned home from vacation about a week later, I discovered that my living room carpet was full of fleas. All I wanted to do was relax after the flight home, but I had to give those plans up in order to begin the fight against these tiny invaders.

Anyone who has experienced an infestation of fleas knows what a fight it is to get rid of them. There is not one single treatment that guarantees to eliminate all the little pests; rather there is a series of things that must be done with great care. One must first try to kill as many of the adult fleas as possible with insecticide powder or fogger. Then the area must be vacuumed to get the remaining adults. It is necessary to use a chemical called a growth inhibitor to kill the larvae, which are not affected by the insecticide and which generally can’t be vacuumed up because they cling to the fibers of the carpet. After using the growth inhibitor, one must vacuum again. By this time, any eggs, which are not affected by either the insecticide or growth inhibitor, probably will have hatched, so there will be additional adult fleas to eliminate. So the process repeats until the battle is won.

As another summer approaches, I thought about the one past and prayed I wouldn’t have to deal with fleas again this year. God helped me to realize that in order to avoid a repeat of last year’s infestation, I should stick to my rental agreement and not have any pets in the house, even ones I’m pet-sitting for even the briefest period of time.

But God also helped me to realize how my experience battling fleas is so much like our life as Christians, battling against sin. It is a never-ending struggle. After our sin is brought to light by the grace of God, we must confess it with repentant hearts. However, even then we must be aware of sin creeping back into our lives, sometimes from new and unexpected directions. As long as we have flesh, we will be vulnerable to sin that quietly waits for us to let our guard down. Of course, by honoring our Father and His commandments, we can avoid having to fight some of the toughest battles.

As Christians, we have all the right “tools” to help us in our battle. The Bible and knowledge of God’s Law are invaluable in exposing our sin, just as research exposed the weaknesses of fleas and was invaluable in defeating them. Constant, earnest prayer keeps us focused on God’s will for us, just as one must stay focused on the details regarding the life-cycles of fleas. And, most thankfully, Jesus Christ is like our insecticide, growth inhibitor and vacuum all in one, killing existing sin, keeping future sin from growing to fruition and disposing of it forever through His all-sufficient sacrifice on our behalf.