Dirt is cleaner than....

My pastor made an interesting point this morning that I have never thought about before, but have been thinking about off and on today.

Do you remember the man who was struck dead because he reached out to save the Ark of the Covenant from falling to the ground? A first reaction to that might be that that was pretty harsh judgment. But God had given his word what would happen if it were touched, no matter the motive. Consider for a moment, though an alternate look at the situation. Yes, God made a decree, but surely he could make an exception because this guy was going to save the ark from diving in the dirt, right? Here's the 'huh' factor though. The reason he had to die is because it would have been better for the Ark of the Covenant to touch the ground and the dirty dirt than for it to touch the human, because the dirt is cleaner than the human. The filth that covers us because of our sin is dirtier in God's eyes than the dirt of this earth.

I don't know about you, but that's really puts it into perspective for me.