Nurture Your Secret Life

"Your assignment is to clean the toilet everyday."

Many years ago, I was part of a celibate brotherhood. And on my first daythere, an older brother gave me my assigned chore: toilet cleaning.

"I don't know how to clean toilets," I muttered meekly, "Can you teach me?" "Let's start with the toilet bowl," he smiled, as he grabbed a sponge, sank his hand into the toilet water, and started scrubbing the insides of the bowl.

Believe me, every hair on my body stood on the end and my innards shook violently. "Gee... uh, I recall Mom using a stick..." I mumbled, but he interrupted, "But this cleans it so much better," his forearm almost disappearing inside the Throne.

With his hand still dripping, he handed me the sponge and said, "You want to try?" I almost choked and wondered if God could take my life that second."Okay..."

I held the foam as manly as I could. Being at a loss for words, I started praying in tongues. I plunged my hand into the water, and realized that my state-of-life discernment was over. That very night, I was going to escape the brotherhood, and get married.

But the days became weeks, and the weeks, months. I cleaned that toilet for a whole year. And I began to love it. It became "my toilet" and "my sponge." I'd have withdrawal pangs if I didn't clean the toilet in a day.

Indeed, the celibate brotherhood taught me the meaning of The Secret Life. You see, I was already preaching in big prayer rallies at that time. After such events, people took my pictures, got my autograph, and... hear this... tried very hard to shake my hand. Oh, if they only knew what I held just a few hours before.

My "public life" was symbolized by the microphone. But my "secret life" was symbolized by the sponge. And it put me in my place, keeping pride away from my heart.

I love Bill Hybell's definition of "Character." Character is who you are when no one's looking. It's easy to be a disciple in front of an applauding crowd. But when no one's looking, was I still a disciple? Thanks to my sponge, I had an answer: Yes!

I remember one Saturday night. We had a big feast and all the brothers washed the dishes together. We even sang happy songs while soaping, rinsing, and drying.

That night, I was soaping. I was removing a stubborn food particle stuck in a fork when I noticed something about the sponge in my hand. It looked oddly familiar. I gasped. Because I knew my sponge! What was it doing here in the kitchen? Just to be sure, I rushed to the toilet and opened the cabinet under the sink - the usual place where I stored my sponge. It wasn't there.

I entered the kitchen hesitantly, wondering whether to tell the brothers or not. But I saw them singing and happy. How could I break their cheery mood?

So I decided to join the singing, get my sponge, and soap the few remaining plates. (To this day, I have never told them what had happened that night. When they read this article, they will kill me.)

I have a question for you: How's your secret life? Who are you when no one's looking? In the unspectacular, mundane, routine of your day?

I tell you. Nurture your secret life.

_________


I believe that on Judgment Day, God will give me a 365-room mansion in heaven.

And when I ask him why the lavish reward, I'd expect Him to say, "Because of your preaching to thousands," or "Because you founded a Home for the Elderly," etc.

But instead, He'd say, "For each day you cleaned that toilet with love in your heart..."

------Excerpt from Bo Sanchez's book " You can make your life beautiful" ------