Cleaning house brings criticism

The article on the front page of today's Columbus Dispatch caught my eye, One man's storage unit is another's eyesore. The story focuses on the misfortune of one local family whose home was severely damaged when a run-away car slammed into it. Now as they are piecing their life and home back together they are "cleaning house" and taking advantage of that great invention, PODS (portable on demand storage).

But as the picture above reveals, all is not well on Main Street, because the POD is a bit of an eyesore to the neighbors. A friend of the family said, "If I didn't know their situation, I'd call the city." We don't like PODS, do we, because they are not clean, they don't fit in. Well manicured lawns and white picket fences don't seem to fit in when someone's living room is in their front yard. So the article follows the discussion, how long should someone have a POD in their front yard? How long is too long? How long is long enough? I don't want my neighbors cluttering up their yard with random belongings that should be tucked away in their house, that is not what I signed up for when I moved into the neighborhood. Do you?!

But if our houses represent our lives and our neighborhood is our local church (just work with me) how long should PODS be allowed to be in our front yards. As Christians we are slowly being transformed into the image of the Lord (2 Cor 3:18) and we go through some remodeling in the process. We have to move some furniture out of the living room, knock down some walls and put on some fresh coats of paint. And unless we live behind 8 foot privacy fences, it will be a bit visible to the neighbors. Sometimes we even have hire some pro's to come in help us do the work.

How should the neighborhood respond? Should we allow PODS in the neighborhood? How long should they be there? I find a bit of guidance in Galatians 6. "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ (6:2)." The picture here is an oppressive load that will crush an individual if they alone are left to support it. In those situations Paul say, hey neighbors - not only will a POD show up in their yard, but you should put one in your yard and take some of the load. Sometimes homes are nearly demolished and PODS must be brought in.

But Paul goes on in verse 5 to say, "For each one will bear his own load." Here the image is a back-pack size load that is manageable. These loads don't require a POD, so everyone in the neighborhood should strap on their backpacks to handle their own loads of this size. So every neighborhood is a mix of backpacks and PODS as we all undergo remodeling, the sanctifying process of being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). My back-pack is on and my driveway is open for a POD if you need it, will you pull one up if I need?