DO FOR YOUR SOUL WHAT YOU DO FOR YOUR BODY

I have a couple of questions for you.

Can you imagine yourself taking a bath only once a month?

You’ll freak out right?  But let’s say there’s a water shortage and a presidential decree was issued that showers can only be taken every 30 days – with a maximum of two galloons of each Filipino per bath.  (Out of our ingrained hospitality, foreigners are allowed to use two-and-a-half galloons).  Entering into an air-conditioned room or bus will be a nightmare, as various toxic odors will hang so thickly in the air, it may coagulate into gel form.  Charismatic prayer meetings will prohibit the lifting of hands.  The basketball ring will be lowered to five feet.  And I presume, that lighting a cigarette in a crowded elevator would be fatal, as the fumes of sweating humanity will be flammable by that time.

Too gross for you?  Let’s change the topic.

What would it be like if you brush your teeth only once a year?

Let’s say some loony scientist discovered that the up and down motion of brushing teeth has a direct impact on the thinning of the ozone layer.  (Who know? :-)  So brushing of teeth has been banned by legislative decree number 9002 – except on New Year’s Eve.  That is the day you can only brush your teeth.

Imagine how thick your mouth will feel by November.

Think with me.  Let’s say your out on a romantic date in December.  Not much kissing will take place, believe me.  And as you look at your beautiful/handsome partner, you’ll notice a bit of green lettuce jutting out from between her teeth.

So you’d tell your partner, “I know what you had for lunch today.”

“What??”, your partner teases you.

“Lettuce!”, you grin.

Your partner chuckles, “You’re wrong!  That’s what we ate last March!”

Ah, these situations will be quite normal.

The message?

That you and I do more deranged things than bathing monthly and brushing teeth annually.

For example, when we do not forgive others every day.

Our bodies need regular washing because we get dirty everyday.  But so do our hearts!  Because each day, people hurt us, offend us, forget us, snub us, step on us, reject us.  But if we choose to forgive everyone everyday, we cleanse our hearts!  We wake up the next morning refreshed and pure and lovely.

Some people however, will not wash themselves from the hurts of each day, but rather accumulate them week after week, month after month, year after year.  Perhaps, in some annual Holy Week retreat, they decide to forgive all their enemies.  Perhaps, when someone close to them dies, they remember to cancel debts and live for something more noble – rather than collect bitterness.

But without these rare events, they just become filthier each day.

Their spirits begin to smell.

And their stench becomes flammable.

For these people, hell begins now.

Do for your soul what you do for  your body