What it Says on the Tin

Do you have an embarrassing incident that lingers down the years - something that makes you cringe every time you recall it, and yet you still think of it from time to time?  Here's one of mine.

 

One day my daughter, paying a visit, decided she was hungry and asked if I minded if she made a sandwich.  A few moments later, a sharp squeal sent me dashing into the kitchen.  She had picked up a margarine carton from the fridge and was surprised and not a little embarrassed when the apricots and syrup that it contained spilled onto the kitchen floor.  She told me off soundly about not putting labels on containers when I re-use them for a different purpose.

I realised recently how little parents learn from their children!  I have three matching canisters in my present kitchen, labelled ‘tea’, ‘coffee’ and ‘sugar’.  I always find it difficult to remember whether it is ‘tea’ or ‘coffee’ that contains the rice!

These are simple domestic arrangements, perhaps but, if nothing else, they illustrate the way that one person’s idiosyncratic habits, while normal to him, are not always what someone else might expect.  But had you ever considered that our very lives are a bit like that?  What is an acceptable way of life for us – whether as individuals or as a family – might not be so for other people.  This general consideration applies to wide ranges of behaviour: from domestic violence to offering food to guests and ladies first; from saying grace before meals to whether or not we cover our bodies in the presence of family members.

Far more importantly, these personal habits might not be acceptable to God.  In the Old Testament we learn that God has called each of us by our name – we are His (Isaiah 43:1).  He has given us that label which says ‘Mine’.  We belong to Him, and He cares for us and protects us.  We are made in the image of God, and St. Paul tells us more about this in I Corinthians 6:19-20.  The apostle reminds us of the price that was paid for us, the sacrifice that won for us eternal life.  Because of this, we have a responsibility to act properly, to use our lives wisely, and to treat our bodies in a manner fitting for a holy temple.

Some people wear a cross all the time.  For some it is merely a piece of jewellery and, if it causes trouble with our employers, it can be removed with no deep consideration.  For others, however, it signifies their deep faith and presents a constant challenge to live up to its meaning.  They find it a constant reminder of the target, of how life should be lived.  For these people, in a very practical way, the cross is a kind of label.  Whether visibly expressed or not, it’s a label that applies to all who have chosen to follow Him. 

‘Temple of the Holy Spirit’ - that’s what the label says.  How closely does your life ‘do what it says on the tin’?