I really, really had fun with this one! For the record, I am not a “germaphobe.’ I like people wherever they come from…
Germanphobe, get it?
Germaphobe? Never mind!
Today, we are talking about infections by bacteria, virus or fungi. All good stuff.
So much of our common every day illnesses are transmitted via airborne droplets from a cough or a sneeze…
THE CDC or the Center for Disease Control reminds us that hand-washing is the single most important thing you can do to prevent catching an infectious disease, including colds, flu, hepatitis A, meningitis and infectious diarrhea. Ew…
But at the same time they are quick to tell us that does not give us –free license to scrub our hands raw.
We are to wash our hands, before and after you prepare food. We are to wash our hands before we eat. We are to wash our hands after using the bathroom. We are to wash our hands after handling animals or animal waste. We are to wash our hands after coughing or sneezing. When your hands get dirty-wash them! Wash them more frequently, if someone is home sick.
Always use soap and water, rinse well and dry. In the absence of any and all soap and water, use alcohol based- disposable hand-wipes or gel sanitizers.
These are the CDC Guidelines.
Now that – that is out of the way…
I found some pretty interesting statistics: (See where you fit in!)
48% of us think that we only get sick in public places.
61% prefer NOT TO USE public restrooms.
42% of us wash our hands incorrectly!
51% of us steer clear of sick people, if at all avoidable.
38% of us use sanitizer-after shaking someone else’s hands.
36% of us – only clean the house once a month!
And yet, 46% of us – wear clothes right off the hanger from the stores.
64% of us would never share a toothbrush with anyone – ever – ick!
43% would never share something we were drinking with anyone else!
And finally, 31% of us wash our hands at least once an hour, the rest of us do not!
So where did you fit in?
Are you a clean freak or not? You know every office, every family has at least one “neat freak”…they are forever washing and tidying things up.
You do realize you DO need some dirt in your life, some bugs, some bacteria, some gunk…the occasional infection is important to build up resistance to fight off infections in the future.
Not everything in life is sterile and pristine.
Germs are everywhere, on all kinds of surfaces…and are to be expected! Ours is a dirty world.
There never was a “Tradition of the Elders” and it is NOT a teaching of Moses regarding hand-washing and cleanliness. That was all made up by the Judean elite. As they attempted to enforce or impose their practices on to others…
As far as Jesus was concerned, this was just another part of the hypocrisy that was being imposed on others, under the guise of the “teachings of the fathers.”
It wasn’t true.
It was made up.
Following such practices was beyond the reach of most people.
The amount of water, time and money to follow these practices – just wasn’t there!
It was an elitist practice coming out of Jerusalem and being dictated to others.
It was a way of separating the rich from the poor.
You are unclean. You do not follow our practices. You are dirty, get away from me, do not touch me, steer clear.
Jesus was condemning hypocrisy (not Judaism) and the all-too-human tendency to make “sacred cows” out of “human customs and traditions.”
You will recognize this in its modern form today, “You can’t do that” “Why we have never done it that way before.” “That’s not the way we do things around here!” “That is not the right way!”
Yep it is still alive and well.
And as for the neat freaks among us, thank you, it is an uphill battle, you hang in there – just don’t go all OCD on us! And for the record: There is no scripture in the Bible that says exactly “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” It is simply a very old common saying. Amen