Mark 7:1-23, Wash Inside Out
When I was in college at Lipscomb University, I lived on the 7th floor of High Rise dorm, and our laundry room was in the basement. Most weeks, I had a “laundry day” and would grouchily carry my overstuffed laundry bag down to the coin-operated machines and wash my clothes. I didn’t enjoy doing laundry then any more than I enjoy it now, but at least then it was only one time a week. Now, as part of a family of five, it seems like we (read: Charity) are doing laundry all the time. It’s a chore.
Since I appreciate efficiency, I don’t have a lot of patience for unnecessary delays and slowdowns, especially when others have added to my burden by not taking care of their own stuff. For example, it used to really annoy me when I’d be sorting and folding clean laundry and find half of it turned inside-out. It could be socks, jeans, t-shirts, whatever. But I’d roll my eyes and huff and take the extra time to turn them back to right-side out and grumble to myself about why people couldn’t have done that themselves before throwing their clothes in the general vicinity of the dirty clothes hamper.
Then I learned that it’s actually better for most clothes to be turned inside-out before being laundered. The decorative elements on the visible side of clothing lasts longer, and the parts of the clothing that are in most contact with our skin oils and sweat get more contact with cleaning agents. So, I guess it’s more efficient to turn the dirty clothes inside-out after all. If you’re wondering why I’m talking about laundry in the bulletin article, just wait. It’ll probably come up again in the sermon as we learn from Jesus about true cleansing and stain removal.
Wash Inside Out, Mark 7:1-23
0 Comments