The Horrendous Stench
Brett Petrillo Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 4:41PM 
Welcome to my newly purchased home. It’s complete with all of the sights and smells of a home that was thoroughly neglected, rejected, and infested. The first step into our home welcomes you with a whiff of nauseating stench. Evidently, the previous homeowner allowed her pets to excrete themselves throughout the house until it became the cesspool it now is. Even though the house had been vacant for about a year, the floors were in such terrible condition that when I pulled up the carpet the floor underneath was still wet with pet fluids.
To some, the odor of a full trashcan would smell like sweet perfume in comparison to our floors. Just walking through the house makes you feel the need for a shower. Now, you might think my wife and I are completely out of our minds, but we welcomed the challenge, adventure, and potential this smelly house brings.
As I was removing the floors and cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, I came upon something very unexpected. I found can after can of carpet cleaner, air freshener, and other similar products scattered around. What an odd thing to find in a home as smelly as this one. It then became clear to me that the previous homeowner was well aware of the horrendous stench inside her home. Strangely, instead of taking care of the problem by replacing the carpets and training her pets, she apparently just tried to cover up the smell.
Many people are living lives that reek of sin. Unfortunately, instead of taking care of the sin problem, people try to cover up the stench by living double lives and wearing forged smiles. This may trick some people, but not God. God has a great sense of smell. The perfume of lies and air fresheners of deceit don’t fool the Lord.
If we truly want to smell good to God, the first step is to wash away all of our sins through baptism (Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21). As long as we live faithfully, we then become a sweet and pleasing aroma before God (2 Corinthians 2:15). This godly smell can even bring life those who are lost (2 Corinthians 2:16).
Are we spiritually clean? When God smells the aroma coming from us, will He smell a horrendous stench, or sweet aroma?