Toothpaste and Toilet Paper

11.18.12

2 Corinthians 12.20 20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances… NASB

Seasons come and go; at times there is peace and harmony and at times there is strife and discord. But one thing is for sure, regardless of our likes or dislikes, the only people in the world that should mean anything to us are the people in the Church – the Local and the Global.

Like families, the church is comprised of many individuals with their own unique lives, preferences, and characteristics. The difference in the Church is we live together in unity, not uniformity. And unity like love requires that one accept the vulnerability of unity. To be unified in heart and mind is of great importance but it comes with great vulnerability. It comes with great sacrifice and it comes with great acceptance because sometimes the smallest things can cause the biggest fights…

In our house the toilet paper roll is placed on the spindle so that the paper dispenses off the top of the roll. I have been taught that. I grew up believing it was the other way around. The power of women and toilet paper… I also grew up believing that toothpaste tubes are to be squeezed from the end thereby dispensing the toothpaste evenly and not leaving much left when the tube is discarded. That’s a hill I’ve chosen not to die on. But toothpaste and toilet paper don’t define who we are as a family and don’t define my relationship with my spouse. I simply let her set the rules and everything is fine from there…

I joke a bit, but that is what is expected of us in the church: let someone else set the parameters and live unified and in love with one another and the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter whether we celebrate communion every week or not as long as we truly love the Lord and each other – and love means seeking the other’s highest good. By all means.

Paul dealt with the Corinthians from afar – he traveled and they remained. He couldn’t be there to handle all of the little details, he counted on them to be able, in the Lord, to take care of all of those things. But he also expected them to love one another deeply from the heart. He expected them to love the Lord Jesus with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength – and each other as well. He expected, because of their faith, for the strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, and disturbances to grow less and less, and to be fewer and farther in between. He expected godly results because he understood the power of the Gospel and the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is present where there is belief.

And so the burden is on us, who call ourselves Christians, to live in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and to lay upon the altar our likes and dislikes, our preferences and peculiarities so that we may live unified in the Lord – accepting and loving one another unconditionally. The power and presence of love will bring credibility to our lives in a way that nothing else can no matter which way the toilet paper is installed. And people will see and be drawn to that love.

Father, help me today to lay upon the altar all of my petty petulance and to strive to live unified with my brothers and sisters even though I think they don’t know how to handle a toothpaste tube… amen.