I often pass by a storefront or other business that have not had their windows cleaned for a very long time. It's not a pretty sight. Windows have a way of collecting dust, mud, fingerprints, bird poop, grease smudges, water spots, posters and their accompanying tape residue. (I won't even mention some of the other more disgusting things I've seen on the surface of a window!) I've seen some that have been neglected for so long that you can't see through them any more. I mean, that's the point of having a window isn't it? If you don't want to see through it just make it into a wall. Don't they realize that windows need regular cleaning?
As a window cleaner, it's amazing what some people will put up with because they either don't want to spend the money to have their windows cleaned or they don't want to spend their own energy and time in cleaning them. They become complacent with the way things are rather than change them. When I look at dirty windows that have been neglected for a long period of time, my righteous indignation starts to rise and quickly turns into judgment regarding the owner of the aforementioned windows. That little voice inside my head starts saying things like, "If their windows are this dirty I can only imagine what the rest of the place looks like." Before long I've relegated the the offender to a lower rung on the social strata and thanked God in heaven that I'm not a "sinner" like them.
Then in the midst of my self-righteous pronouncements I get a little twinge of guilt. Hold on a minute. I guess I'm really not much different myself. The truth is I must confess to complacency in far too many areas of my own life. Not in every area mind you, but in far too many for me to be handing out reprimands to others for their own neglectfulness. Sigh. God have mercy on me, a sinner.
