I've been doing a lot of housework lately. Okay...maybe not as much as some people. But more than what i usually do. For the info of those not in the know, i'm currently maidless. So i have to do all the cleaning myself. And since now i have my own bathroom, the extra cleaning also comes with the extra territory.

One of the first few things i was dying to clean was my mirror. The nice big one in my bathroom which also acts as the door to the toiletries cupboard, the same one that i can get my face nice and close to for careful inspection when necessary. Problem with its close proximity to my face is that every time i wash my face, water splashes on the mirror and in doing so, eventually leaves water marks on the mirror when it dries. After about a week of splashing, you can imagine how much i longed to give the mirror a good wipe. So last Sat, armed with my Fairprice glass cleaner and some old newspaper, i marched up to my mirror and 'scrubbed' it down enthusiastically till it was sparkling clean and spotless. I even stepped back to admire my handiwork. "Perfect!" I thought.

The next morning, as i was about to wash my face, I stopped short and frowned. (At this point of time, I should tell you something about me. You know how kids don't realise how difficult money comes by till they actually start working for it themselves? Yeah, its the same with me. I didn't realise how tough it can be cleaning the house till i had to do it myself. As such, i now feel the intense need to keep my room and bathroom as clean as possible so that i don't have to suffer so much when cleaning it.) In view of the background to my psyche, it shouldn't surprise you that i now felt the intense need to allow my mirror to stay as spotless for the longest possible time so that i could delay cleaning it. Hence, i very carefully and gingerly dabbed water on my face, so as to prevent any splashing. That, of course, meant a slightly longer face-washing time, and a less shiok one at that. After a few days of unshiok washing, a thought came to me. Gee, it only takes ONE splash to taint the mirror and i'd have to clean it. Any and every mark would show. I could keep it spotless as long as 10 days? 15 days? Then as soon as i 'miscue', there you go... no longer spotless. And then, the question was, how long could i keep this up? Gee...so much effort everyday could go into not splashing and yet, it just takes one day...one splash.....

And then, for some strange reason, another thought hit me...and i know it's abit far off, but then, i can't exactly stop these thoughts from coming right? I thought,"This sound awfully like SIN, doesn't it?" I mean, sure, you could put in all your effort into stopping yourself from doing the right thing, but how long can you keep it up? And it doesn't matter how long you've kept yourself from sinning. Just one slip and your slate is tainted. Doesn't matter whether it's one sin or two or three, you've still sinned, and will go to hell if you don't have the blood of Christ to wash you clean.

That's what the Bible says God's standard is you know. NOT ONE SIN. For us to go to heaven by our own merit, that's what it takes. Can we do it? Sure, maybe we could keep ourselves from sin a day, two days? Maybe even a week or so. But how long can we keep it up? One sin. That's all it takes.

This isn't something new. I've always known it. It's been drilled into my head by my Bible teacher, Cecilia. But i guess, it's a good reminder for me. A reminder to be thankful for what Christ has done for us on the cross. I could never remain sinless and go the heaven based on my own works. Just as i could never keep up with washing my face gingerly everyday so as not to splash water on my mirror. And knowing that i have the glass cleaner doesn't mean that i splash all i want recklessly and liberally. I still try as much as possible to minimise the splashing, it's just that i don't have to worry about permanently staining or dirtying the glass, simply because I have my Fairprice glass cleaner...=)