'a fly in the ointment'

So everything seems to be going well. On the surface, things couldn't be better and we are happy. But 'there's a fly in the ointment', something which prevents things from being perfect, something small which spoils.

The expression comes from Ecclesiastes 10.1, 'Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour.' The apothecary's (an apothecary being the old English term for a pharmacist) ointment was a substance mixed with an expensive perfume, which made the wearer smell fragrant - unless the apothecary missed a dead fly in the jar, which would begin to stink as it putrified. So the expression 'a fly in the ointment' reminds us that a long-lasting state of perfect happiness is not possible down here. There are at least three reasons for this.

First of all, we ourselves bring imperfection into our experience. Since Adam and Eve first listened to the devil in paradise, choosing to doubt God's virtue and disobey his command, sin has come in and destroyed God's perfect creation. It has spoiled the image of God in mankind, making us by nature and by choice far from perfect, bringing into the world selfishness, jealousy, hatred, malice, cruelty, unkindness - all the emotions and desires that reflect the character of the prince of this world, the devil himself, rather than our Maker. Jesus accused the men of His day of this. 'You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies', John 8.44. The Holy Spirit in the book of Romans says, 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes, Romans 3. 10-18. These moral failures are to be found in every part of the world, in every culture and race without exception.

Secondly, because of sin, not only has the nature of man been debased, his mind, will and emotions no longer seeking God, but sicknesses, diseases, infections and ultimately death mar our lives. This is the result of Gd's curse upon sinful man. 'Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return', Genesis 3.17-19. The second law of thermodynamics means that everything decays. 'Any natural process in a closed system progresses in the direction of increasing disorder, or entropy, of the system.' In other words, things tend to decay and get worse - which is the exact opposite of what the theory of evolution teaches. So my new car is not going to remain in pristine condition - it is going to get rusty and fall apart. My house is not going to improve without constant maintenance - it is going to age and crumble. My beautiful garden needs a lot of weeding. The best things we have or experience in life have a built-in capacity to fail and disappoint. And thirdly, God Himself can send 'a fly in the ointment', a particular problem that we have to face individually. This is often done to keep our eyes and hopes fixed on Him and to detach us from the things of this world that take us away from Him.

We need to remember that the only perfect place is heaven, where there is no sin and no curse. The only time people are going to be perfect is when their salvation is complete - in heaven, when the sinful nature is gone. In the meantime, in all our human relationships and experiences, 'there's a fly in the ointment' and that fly is sin. People will disappoint you and you will disappoint them. That's life. Roses are perhaps the most beautiful of flowers, but underneath their perfect blooms they carry thorns. The Bible reminds us that this life is just a journey to a better land and we are to live in this world as strangers and pilgrims, expecting to forgive and be forgiven. So, therefore, believer, 'seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,'Colossians 3.1-2. In that place, 'God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away', Revelation 21.3-4. It is only in heaven that we will fully know what it is to experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. And it is only in heaven when we will know what it is to be satisfied at last, Psalm 17.15.

And, for our prayer, the words of a hymn. 'I thank Thee Lord that all our joy is touched with pain; that shadows fall on brightest hours, that thorns remain, so that earth's bliss may be our guide and not our chain. For Thou who knowest, Lord, how soon our weak heart clings, hast given us joys, tender and true, yet all with wings, so that we see, gleaming on high, diviner things. I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls, though amply blest, can never find, although they seek, a perfect rest. Nor ever shall, until they lean on Jesu's breast'. (Adelaide Procter).

Don't expect perfection in this imperfect world. Only God is perfect.