Pumpkin Purity
It was the size of a fingernail, but it cost a man thousands of dollars.
A Wisconsin farmer had “the one.” He grew a pumpkin that was set to earn him well over $20,000 due to it immense size. At $9 per pound in a largest pumpkin contest, the man was going to take home a lot of money, because his pumpkin weighed in at an astonishing 2520 pounds!
However, he took home nothing, because the pumpkin was disqualified.
Why? Because on this pumpkin that weighed in at well over a ton, there was a crack the size of a fingernail. That crack was enough to disqualify the man from this huge prize. Thankfully, he took it in stride and recognized that the judgment was the correct one by the rules.
I have to say, though, my first thought was “really?” After all, the pumpkin was easily the largest, destroying the competition, so to have such a tiny flaw cost this man his prize seems rather unfair.
On reflection, though, this little “squash tale” helped me to think through a Biblical subject in a way that I need to remember more often. It is the subject of purity.
That little crack in a massive pumpkin was enough to, if I may put it this way, render it “impure.” It simply was not “whole,” even if the flaw was incredibly tiny.
In a similar way, purity is not purity if there is any impurity in my life. We can very often fall into the trap of living “mostly” pure lives. We might, for example, stay away from hardcore pornography, but we might allow a few glances at bikini-clad women in ads or commercials. We might avoid getting fall-down drunk, but we excuse getting a little “tipsy” with our friends during a ballgame or trip to the beach.
Simply put: the Biblical standard is purity. Period.
Holiness is not a conditional thing. Our purity is meant to reflect the purity of God, and He is so pure that He cannot even look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13). If I am trying to live out that purity–and reflect it to the world around me–then how could I ever excuse any level of impurity in my life, especially if I allow it into my life intentionally?
So, while it may seem like it is something incredibly small–like that tiny crack in a huge pumpkin–it needs to be treated as seriously as possible. Impurity is disqualifying to our spiritual life, and we need to rid ourselves of it and ask God’s forgiveness for even the smallest impurity, so that we can stand pure in His sight.
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
