It was bad!
Growing up in Brazil in the 60’s & 70’s I used to see rusted cars all the time. Three or four year old cars would start to show the bubbles under the paint in the expected areas.
That only got better in the 80’s when automotive steel started to be galvanized.
I remember a friend of mine unsuccessfully trying to blame the car wash when his Karmann Ghia emerged from the booth very clean, but with a big hole on the rocker panel where the high pressure water hit it.
But… no worries… there was Bondo!
If you would react to the first signs of rust you could fix it in your garage: sand it until most of the rust would disappear, apply Bondo, sand again, prime and paint.
Bingo! You could now go for another year or two without any visible rust (or sell the car quickly).
It was so bad that used car shoppers would carry a magnet to check if the critical areas had been repaired.
Now, the sad thing is when you see people trying to do the same with themselves.
I am not talking about make-up covering skin imperfections, I am talking about character issues being hypocritically covered up.
A nice smile on that selfie on Facebook won’t cover for too long the issues someone may be dealing with: lies, gossip, addictions, slandering, lust, selfishness…
A “do it yourself” Bondo application won’t solve the deeper issue with the rust.
The metal has to be restored.
The same is the case for the spiritual version of rust: sin.
You can cover it, but it will come back. You can fight it (and you should) but you will not win it alone.
You don’t need the sin to be hidden: it has to be removed.
The painful grinding, cutting and welding can only be done by the One who can remove sins.
Not with Bondo, but with His Blood.
