2007-11-02 - World Toilet Summit

1 Samuel 25:22, "May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave one male who pisses against the wall."

Today, October 31, 2007 the World Toilet Summit (WTS) gets underway in New Delhi, India. You might laugh, but this is serious business. A leading sanitation expert, Bindeshwar Pathak, says the summit will "enable an exchange of ideas on how to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of providing clean sanitation to all."

I couldn't have said it better myself, but it is an issue of health, when 2.6 billion people have no access to the use of a proper toilet. Such uncleanliness breeds disease, and kills thousands of people every year. The goal is to provide everyone with access to a toilet by 2025. The first obvious application to anyone reading this, is to give thanks to the Lord for His kindness to us all, who, most likely, have proper sanitation facilities. We so often take for granted those "little things," that for many would be a substantial life improvement. The Lord has been very gracious to us, and we are unwise when we forget His mercies. Let us take some time, and give thanks to the Lord for His graciousness to us in these things we often overlook. However, I think there are other things to consider.

Let us remember, as servants of Jesus Christ, that His kingdom is not of this world. We look forward to the Gospel kingdom, where the Lord will reign in power and prominence. Let us first be earnest about the things concerning the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of this world is soon to pass. We look for that day when our everlasting happiness will not be future, but a present, experienced truth. One day, suffering, pain, and sorrow will end - and all will be brought under the subjection of the Lord. As servants of Christ, our first concern pertains to things of an eternal nature. The eternal worth of one soul far outmatches thousands upon thousands of worlds. It is something that we can easily forget, but this world is passing, while every soul --- every soul --- lives on forever. If we think about this deeply, we really all must blush with shame at the things that so often gain, grab, and win our attention from those things that really matter.

This does not mean that Christians should not be concerned about the environment. The WTS is just one example of something that is being done to preserve life in our world. Christians should be at the forefront of such efforts of compassion. We have an eternal interest in preserving life. Our desire is that those who are perishing might live, and have a chance to hear of the good news of Jesus Christ. While environmental concerns are never the primary concerns of the Christian, they are the Christian's concern. We should not be litterbugs. We should plant a tree. We should seek to be eco-friendly. This is God's creation. The job given to Adam was to tend to the garden. We also should tend to the needs of God's Earth, and to seek to protect, preserve, and look after what we have been given to care for by the Lord.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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