“Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.” (Ecclesiastes 10:1, NKJV)

Would you ever shop at the bath and body store for dead fly lotion? Not likely. And if you leave the lid off your face cream, and a fly dies in it, you will probably throw it out. A dead rotting fly defiles good fragrant ointment. In the same way a little foolishness defiles an otherwise good person. We may respect a person in leadership. But then we hear that person deride someone else, tell a dirty joke, or use coarse language. Suddenly we are disillusioned, and we lose respect for the individual. Their little folly is a dead fly in the ointment.

Likewise, we can do our best to be holy as God is holy. We can seek to deny our fleshly appetites and “flee youthful lusts”. We may make great progress in sanctification and feel pretty good about ourselves. But a little craving…a little provision made for the flesh…can defile our temple and lead us down a slippery slope. How hard it is to be holy!

Even Solomon yielded to his flesh and married many foreign women who turned his heart away from the LORD. The wisest man who ever lived, who was honored by dignitaries from other nations, had his own dead fly in the ointment!

Let’s face it: our struggle with sin is life’s never-ending battle. The apostle Paul said that he died daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) and that he beat his body and kept it under control (1 Corinthians 9:27). After preaching to others, he did not want to be disqualified.

But the author of Hebrews encourages us:

“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’” (Hebrews 12:4–6, ESV)

Even if the Lord rebukes or disciplines you, then be thankful. It only proves that you are His child. And He will use whatever means necessary to drive the foolishness out of your heart. He wants your life to be the fragrance of Christ and not to reek of rotting flies!