We all have junk drawers at home—those places where we stash things that don’t have a proper place, but we can’t quite bring ourselves to throw away. In the same way, our spiritual lives accumulate a kind of “junk drawer” filled with sayings, ideas, and beliefs that sound spiritual but don’t actually come from Scripture. These are the quips we’ve heard from family, social media, or even half-remembered sermons—things like “when God closes a door, He opens a window,” or “cleanliness is next to godliness.” They may sound wise, but they can clutter our faith and even lead to confusion or doubt.
One of the most common and dangerous items in our spiritual junk drawer is the idea of the “scale”—the belief that we can balance out our bad deeds with good ones, and that God will weigh our lives to see if we measure up. This view is not only unbiblical, but it’s also impossible. Scripture is clear: our hearts are deeply flawed, and if God kept a record of our wrongs, none of us could stand. We are not “mostly good people who make mistakes”; we are, by nature, sinful and unclean, unable to pay the debt we owe.
But the good news is that God does not deal with us according to what we deserve. The question of whether God will be just or merciful is answered in the cross of Jesus Christ, where justice and mercy meet. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. He paid the price we could never pay, tipping the scale entirely in our favor—not because of our efforts, but because of His grace.
This truth changes everything. It transforms how we approach God—not with fear of punishment, but with awe at His compassion and love. It also changes how we relate to others, freeing us from the need to keep score or demand fairness. Instead, we can love and forgive as we have been loved and forgiven. The cross replaces the scale, and grace replaces our striving. So let’s clean out our spiritual junk drawers, throw away the scale, and cling to the cross, where we find more than enough mercy for all our need.
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