Disinfected

Last updated on June 9, 2020

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up, I had a work trip that required multiple gas and restaurant stops, and two nights of hotel stays. Perfect time to test how safe I could keep myself virus-free while traveling. Armed with disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer, I set out on my journey.

The virus is highly contagious, so just one slip up, just one mistake, could mean the difference between getting sick and staying healthy.

My first stop on the journey was a gas station, where I pressed the on-screen buttons to make my purchase, and began pumping gas. Wait, I thought, I didn’t wipe off the gas handle.

So, I got back into the car, pulled out a wipe, and swiped off the pump handle and the car door handle. The gas pump clicked, signaling a full tank, so I confidently grabbed the clean handle and returned it to its holder. The pump beeped at me, wondering if I wanted a receipt, so I tapped the button for “yes.”

Wait, I thought, I forgot about the buttons on the pump. So, I grabbed the hand sanitizer and rubbed my hands vigorously while humming the ABCs. Then I realized when I had gotten into the car the first time to get the wipes, I had touched the steering wheel. Out came the wipes again. For good measure, I also hit the gear shift, console and radio volume knob, just in case.

Climbing out of the car, I grabbed the receipt dangling from the pump, stuffed it in my wallet, and stuffed my wallet in my pants pocket. Wait, I thought, how many times has that roll of paper for the receipt been touched? Maybe it was a new roll that had just been put in the machine, so it could’ve been handled during the pandemic.

So, I pulled it out, wiped it off, and wiped my wallet inside and out. Wait, I thought again, I had touched the receipt, then touched my wallet which ended up in my pocket, on my person. Can the virus transmit through pant pockets? Imagine the thoughts of the other gas-pumping patrons as they watched me hopping around trying to wipe out the inside of my pockets.

Finally, I was ready to move on. As I slipped behind the wheel and into driver’s seat, I moved the package of wipes to the passenger seat. Wait, I thought, I touched that package the first time I had come into the car after touching the gas pump. It must be contaminated.

*Sigh* I had only made one stop, and felt like I had possibly infected myself, like, 250 times, without even realizing it. I had to be perfect, but with growing dread, I realized I was far from perfect.

Frustrated, my head dropped into in my hand and I rubbed my forehead, and instinctively dragged my hand down over my face, while groaning at my lack of perfection. What else had I missed?

Wait, I thought, when my hand got to my chin – I am touching my face …

We are all far from perfect in a spiritual sense, too. We are all soiled and dirty and infected with sin. In Psalm 51, David even says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (v. 5). David also indicates how deep the sin in all of us goes in Psalm 19, where he asks God, “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins” (v.12-13). Not only is he asking to be forgiven for the sins he realizes he is committing, he also wants to be forgiven for the sins he does not even realize he is committing.  

We can’t be perfectly sin-free. It’s just not in our nature. Which is why we need to rely on someone who is, so we can be at peace, not worrying about every little thing we may have done to get on the wrong side of God. That’s why God sent His son Jesus to atone for the sins we all commit every day, knowingly and unknowingly. Jesus came and died to cleanse us, to decontaminate us. “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).

Have you put your trust in Him, so you can enjoy the peace of being spiritually disinfected?