Wash It Off!

One of the things I've become more cautious about in my Chaplain work at the hospital is the need to sterilize my hands if I touch anything in a room. For the past few years I've become more and more aware of the reality that many of us get sick because of the things we touch and then do not wash it off. A trip to the grocery store has us touching the buggy handle, with no idea at all what kind of germs are just waiting there for us to jump onto us and get into our system! It can be endless and rediculous if we take it to extremes. Jack Nicholson's character in "As Good As It Gets" comes to mind. Today was a touching day. It seems like many of the patients wanted to shake hands today. They do not usually do this. But that means that I must pass by the little tube of foam sterilization on my way out the door, get a dollop of it, and rub it into my hands. The patient looks at me as if to say, "what...you think I got cooties?" But it doesn't matter how much you sterilize your hands ... the next doorknob or stair rail you touch has your hand dirty again. And what about things you touched BEFORE you sterilized? The pen in your pocket? What about your keys ... did you touch the keys in your pocket...or your money? And so it seems to be with sin. The more I try to get rid of the germ, the more I realize it is impossible. I can try some temporary fixes, but still it is just too pervasive. And when I have done all that I can do, I become aware that I touched a doorknob or a grocery cart and without thinking I have accumulated the germ again. You know, what I really need is not a dollop of antibacterial foam. I need some kind of otherworldly teflon that just doesn't let sin cling to me any more. I need a substance that would at once cleanse me and make me aware of the need to grow in my ability to avoid the germ. Yeah... it has to be more than forgiveness (as important as that is) ... it has to give me an edge in the pursuit. It will have to be a powerful substance, more powerful than anything known to man. It will have to be a plentiful substance, because I need a lot of it. It will have to be an available substance, because if it is rare and expensive I will not be able to afford it. What do you call that substance?