My wife and I like old houses, and with that being true – we live in one.  When we first moved in and started renovating a few years ago we found out that one room had dry-wood termite  damage in it.  Naturally, we called in a termite pro who assured us that the damage was old and the termites were inactive, but still he would need to treat the wood just in case.  This required damaging the floors a good bit in order to get to where the termites had been.  All in all, the damage was minor, the termites were seemingly history, and by the time we laid down a roll of carpet we almost forgot this event even happened.

A couple of weeks ago I was repairing a piece of siding outside of this room and noticed something very familiar when I removed that first piece of siding.  After removing the second piece it was clear – the termites were still there.  Even worse, they have been quite busy the past few years.   We called in a termite pro again.  He confirmed that the termites were active and that since they were dry-wood termites there was only one solution: find every piece of wood the termites are in and get it out of the house. 

Just spraying a little bug spray will not work.  Covering up the damage with a pretty piece of carpet will not work.  Filling in the holes with wood filler will not work.  The only solution to get rid of these pests is to cut the wood out!  In the end, we had to completely rip out the floors of my bedroom and my boys’ bedroom.  The termites went from just a few planks to two whole rooms in a couple of years.  Some pieces of the floor were so eaten through that a 10 foot piece of wood was as light as a sheet of notebook paper (no, I am not exaggerating).  I was surprised we had fallen through the floors yet.  I felt unbelievably foolish for not being more agressive years ago.  I had heard of termites.  I knew they were dangerous.  I knew they could destroy my home. 

Why would I not take every action I could to be absolutely sure that they were gone?  I hate to think what would have happened a few more years from now if we had not done something.

In the bible Jesus is teaches about sin and he says this, “If your eye causes you to sin then gouge it out.  If your hand causes you to sin, then cut it off.  It would be better for you to live the rest of this life without a body part than to spend eternity in hell with your whole body.”

Translation:  if there is sin in your life you have to cut it out.  Some people think Jesus was going to the extreme with his example here, that its just a metaphor.  Jesus doesn’t really expect us to start performing self-amputations does he?  After my termite experiment, I believe he 100% meant every word of it.  The only way to get rid of sin is to cut it out completely.  You can cover it up.  You can paint it up.  You can spray it with a little bug spray.  But over time it is going to destroy your “house.” 

Why would you not take every action you can to be absolutely sure it is gone?