Rent Free

Lori and I just finished an episode of CSI. It was okay. But there was a great line in the episode. It was about one of the CSIs thinking she had blown a case 18 years ago and the suspect was demanding a new trial. Evidence was beginning to accumulate that suggested that the suspect might be innocent.

The CSI sits down with the detective, Jim Brass, who says the suspect is a scumbag. The line: "Don't let him live rent free in your head."

Usually I accuse CSI of having hack writers who are a little too attached to puns (the opening scene of CSI Miami is guaranteed to end with pun) but that was an evocative line (I know, a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters...).

Do we let people live "rent free in our heads"? I think we do. Bitterness. Doesn't cost the person we're bitter with anything. Regret. Hate. All that stuff that is, well, sin, right? The most evocative definition of sin that I've found is "that which destroys" - destroys relationship with God, with other people, even within ourselves.

I don't think he was suggesting (and certainly I am not suggesting) that we ought to get some compesation for that bitterness that we hold on to ("collect the rent" or whatever). Heh, once Lori woke up after a nightmare in which I did some horrible thing to her and she was mad at me all day. Yeah, I can laugh about that NOW :)

It's not letting that stuff come in at all, right? Don't let 'em live in your head. Good advice. Even from the writers of CSI. Who knew?

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