by Pastor Ken
During one summer in my college years, through a friend’s help, I got a temporary job in a cleaning company. The company had quite a few contracts, providing a cleaning service for the banks in downtown New York City. My daily work schedule was to arrive a few minutes before the bank closed. I went to the locker room and changed into work clothes. After all the employees left and the security guards locked the entrance, I began my work. I was responsible for cleaning the lobby, stairs, toilets, and general staff offices. Other cleaners handled high-security rooms. When I finished my work, I would ask the security guard to unlock the entrance and let me leave.
Cleaning does not require a lot of labor, but it is a “dirty job,” so to speak. After putting on gloves, I didn’t mind dealing with dirty things. Vacuuming, buffing the desk, and mopping the floor didn’t bother me. The most challenging thing was the repetitiveness of the job. The trash can that is emptied today will fill up again tomorrow. A desktop that is wiped clean today will get dirty again. The office and the break rooms that are tidied up today become messy tomorrow. It’s the same work day after day. If not because of the pay, it is hard to imagine that people work as janitors all their lives.
The fact is, things and places must be cleaned and maintained. Regular maintenance makes a place last for a long time. Cars, houses, various tools, and kitchen utensils all need to be maintained properly. Otherwise, they will malfunction or even become dangerous.
Isn’t it true that our lives also need to be maintained regularly? If we don’t have a balanced diet, and simply take whatever is available when we are hungry, or pop open a can of soda when we are thirsty, eventually we’ll have all kinds of health problems. If we don’t pay attention to personal hygiene and don’t exercise, we’ll have other issues too.
Not only do we need to take care of our physical health, but we also need to pay attention to our mental and spiritual health. If we watch any available TV program and do not filter any video clips that come through our electronic devices, our minds may be corrupted with all kinds of garbage information. We may harbor all sorts of twisted thoughts.
The same thing applies to our interpersonal relationships. For example, as misunderstandings arise, we need to clarify. When making mistakes, we must admit them. After we offend others, we have to apologize. Otherwise, those dirty and messy incidents will add up and ruin our relationship with others. One day, we’ll suddenly realize we have no close friends around us.
For the physical space we live in, if we don’t want to do the boring cleaning work, we can hire someone to do it. However, for my own body, mind, and soul, no matter how reluctant I’m, I have to do the work myself. Good health depends on a balanced diet and daily exercise. The maintenance of morality and humanity requires frequent reflection, confession, and moral cultivation before God. To maintain the interpersonal relationship, we learn to communicate effectively, listen to each other, and have mutual respect. In time, we will have a healthy body, mind, and soul. We can establish strong family ties and longtime friendships.
