Spring Cleaning

P J O’Rourke, modern humorist, has said, “Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely.” He was referring to the great admonition “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. Those of us who think cleanliness is one of the most important facts of life, need to listen to King Solomon “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.” (Proverbs 30:12).  The greatest way for those of us who claim the name of Christ is to study His final exam where we have not only the questions but the answers.

 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31-46)

Spring cleaning or cleaning anytime has always been apart of my life. Now, it is not as important because in darkness you do not see dirt. One who is blind can walk around dirt, dust, a messy house all day long and not be bothered (I am a totally blind 100% disabled service connected veteran).  My parents believed in keeping everything clean, and I am convinced that is the reason there was so little sickness in my family. Particularly, every spring my folks would put all the bedding, quilts, mattresses etc. out in the sun. The best germ killer in the world is sunlight.  The house would be cleaned from one end to the other. It was the same with my father’s barns, stables, etc.

As a young doctor in a hospital, I was a fanatic about keeping everything clean.  The staph infections which are such a disaster to most hospitals are a direct result of the hospital facility not being clean. In my one visit to a local hospital here (New Hanover Medical Center), the staph infection, long known as a source of prolonged illness in that hospital, almost killed me.  I was laying in the bed of this hospital, having been brought back very sick from the staph infection, and this old blind, doctor got out of bed and did an inspection of my room.  Firstly, I discovered that these outdated people were still using overstuffed furniture in hospital rooms, what better place to harbor bacteria, that their were draperies hanging at the windows, blinds on the windows that were not clean, carpet at the door and in the hallway. When the cleaning people came in the morning, I noticed they were sweeping, which further distributes the microbiology (you never use a broom in a hospital always a mop).

Later, I talked with an assistant vice president about the situation.  When he presented this to the board (all political appointees with no knowledge of hospital care) he was relieved of his duties. I do understand that many of my recommendations have been followed but I have left strict instruction that I am not to go to that hospital again unless it is a matter of life and death. 

As an army medical officer, I was used to speak to large groups of trainees about the importance of health safety along with the importance of canteens for water, heat stroke, etc.  It seems to just be a matter of common sense, but I am convinced that the colds and flu is spread more by human contact then any other. Predominately by the hands.  What can you expect when someone uses the hands over the mouth when coughing, a Kleenex when blowing their nose, and then these same hands are next on door knobsstair railings, for other people to touch.  KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN AND DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE PUT THEIR INFECTED HANDS.

At an old age, almost a recluse, I do not get out in public very much.  It still bothers me to be in a restaurant, and a blind person must depend on eating with his fingers, since I am well known, via radio, speaking, etc. there are always acquaintances coming to the table to speak to me and wanting to shake my hand, hands which I am using for eating.  I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEIR HANDS WERE TOUCHING LAST.

Today’s microbes are more dangerous and difficult to manage then any time in history.  Our immune systems have been compromised in every way, chiefly by the antibiotics which are often misused and overused too early. 

I went into the tomb of Tutankhamun when in the valley of the kings in Egypt in 1972.  This was the only tomb that had not been robbed earlier and was still intact.  When the British archeologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb much of the gold and other “fines” of the pharaohs are now in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. To prove that microbes do not die easily, many of the Carter excavation party became very ill and some died from the microbes still harbored in that tomb after being buried for thousands of years. Only recently, bodies buried from the early 20th century flu epidemic have furnished flu bacteria to be cultured and studied in an effort to fight new flu strains.

The community which my mother was raised was almost wiped out by this 1918 flu epidemic which killed an estimated 50 million people around the world. My mother could talk at lengths about the horrors of such an epidemic in a community. At that time, with so little knowledge of epidemiology, people from outside the community were afraid to come in because it would spread to their own communities, which was almost certain death. My grandfathers house became a hospital and morgue in the community.  The men who were not sick were busy building boxes for burial and digging graves.  One of my mothers young brothers died, several of her aunts, one right after she gave birth to a baby, one of her sisters had just given birth in another community where the flu was not as ravaging, my uncle took this new baby to the aunts house so she could nurse the baby along with her own. He did not go to the house but rather lay the wrapped baby in the yard, call from a distance and told them the situation. Later, I understood why this one aunt had one son with a different last name.

Not only did many in the community die, ravaged by this 1918 epidemic (the family cemetery shows the graves) but the family Doctor (Dr Hayes, horse and buggy), who was coming into the community to care for the sick, died of the same epidemic. Then they were left with no one to treat them. But, as their earlier ancestors had done, they depended on home remedies and prayer. This same uncle, who I remember very well, had learned to go into the woods and get certain roots from certain bushes for making treatment.

My missionary son (Dr. John M. Morris) who had a degree in microbiology, medical school, 2 theology doctorates, tells me new Christians, on the mission field, when ill, in their sense of new creations in Christ, actually believe in prayer, and the first thing they do when ill, before going to the doctor, is have prayer for healing. Spring cleaning, has many connotations and denotations to the believer's mind. We fully believe in the cleanliness of mind and body, clean activities in our living and maintaining our health, physical and spiritual, with cleanliness.