TOILETS AND INTESTINES

By Hayley Boud

When the toilet is blocked it becomes a bad smell and it can cause diseases in others. When we don’t forgive and forget we are a bad smell to God because He doesn’t forgive our sins if we don’t forgive others. Bitterness blocks our passage to God and bitterness can bring sickness to others that we meet.

The toilet receives what you give it everyday, it never complains or expects to be thanked and it carries on day after day. But nobody appreciates the great work it does. When you see a child is about to vomit you try your best to get that child to the toilet because it’s so much easier to flush the vomit down the toilet than to clean the mess up from the floor.

We are to be like toilets and to also not neglect those that are like toilets around us.

For example, the intestine doesn’t look very good but if it is pinched or twisted you will really suffer. The intestine works quietly and no one sees what it does or appreciates it until the intestine doesn’t work anymore. E.g. at my old job we had a lady who was employed to clean the glass wear in the lab. She did that job very well but we neglected her thinking that it is such an easy job, any person can do it. But one day she left and we had to do the job for ourselves and we discovered that although it is an easy job, it’s a very important job. We discovered that although it’s a very simple job nobody wanted to do it. But it’s a very important job, one that requires patience and concentration. If the job isn’t done correctly it will affect the lab results.

So we have to appreciate those around us. If Steve leaves us today we will notice and maybe regret that we didn’t appreciate him while he was here. Maybe I’m ugly or smelly like the intestine but maybe my job is very important even if you don’t see me working (you can’t see the intestine working).

Some people in the group are more important than others. Odon is important because he gives the message on Friday night and Ange is important because she makes the supper and the kids serve the drink and food so they are important. But everyone else isn’t important. Especially Hayley, she doesn’t really do much, she never speaks up when we have discussions and she never serves drinks or bakes supper. If she leaves I won’t miss her. Even I’ll be happy because she’s not really attractive, she’s a bit like the intestine and she smells like the intestine so I don’t really feel I want to talk to her. No, if she leaves today, she won’t be missed.

But maybe quietly Hayley works at home; praying for all of us and on the day she stops praying; everybody will notice and say, ‘Oh, we didn’t know how important Hayley is.’ In the same way we would notice if our intestine stopped working. While it works fine, we can’t notice the great and important job it does until something happens and your intestine stops working properly.

We take our intestine for granted because it’s always been there. We shouldn’t. We should praise God for it and everything else that we have. E.g. Michael’s van, everybody can use it but the day it stops working, that will be the day that people will appreciate what we had.

Let’s remember to praise God for each other and let’s remember to encourage each other. E.g. I’m so glad that Michelle is in the group because she thinks of others. Usually we can only think of the negative points in others but the positives of the intestine far out way the negatives (although it is smelly and ugly, it’s very necessary).

We have to value each other and remember that God created each one and each one is unique. For example, white gold is more valuable than silver (although they look the same) because one is more rare. Nothing is more rare than a one-of. In collector’s items one-offs are so valuable that they can’t be priced, they are priceless. We are all priceless. We must view others with that in mind. I’m not attracted to every body, some people are not really easy to love but if I remember that they are so valuable that they are priceless, that will help me to be their friend.

I Corinthians 12:14-25, “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, ‘because I am not the hand, I am not part of the body’, is it not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,’ is it not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of smell be? But God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’. On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body, which deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”


SUMMARY

Be like a toilet- Don’t get blocked with unforgiveness or bitterness
- Receive what ever people give to you, even faeces
- Don’t complain about others or think negatively
- Don’t expect to be thanked or noticed

Be like the intestine
- Work quietly
- Don’t try to show your works

Appreciate the toilet and intestine
- We are all important
- We need each other (Prayer, love, help, encouragement, support, friendship)
- No one is more important than others
- Praise God for everything and don’t wait until it is gone
- Think of each other’s positive points rather than negative