Paper Towel, Anyone?

Oopsie--spilled the coffee! What do you reach for? If I could hazard a guess I would say a paper towel. Am I right? Of course! The question of the day, though, is: why on earth is a paper towel good for a spill?

Remember our introduction to the basics of biology in which osmosis had a starring role? While a full definition might be more detailed, the short version basically says that osmosis is that process by which the molecules of one solvent tend to pass through the membrane of a less concentrated one. It is the scientific fancy-shmancy term for how a paper towel picks up a spill. One thing gets incorporated into another and—ta-dah!—osmosis.

For osmosis to do its thing , two objects or things have to be juxtaposed, they have to be next to each other. Then the more concentrated thing begins to spread into the less concentrated one until they become more or less equal. In short, osmosis is the bomb for taking care of spills, and it sure makes for a good visual of how we end up learning things of which we might not even be aware.

Recently a dearly loved niece and her family moved to Japan due to a work promotion. While the promotion was definitely a good thing, accepting it touched off a ripple effect of things that needed to be done in order for it to happen. One of those requisite changes was (duh!) a need to learn Japanese. Luckily for my niece and her husband, they have a long history of loving all things Japanese, had even taken some vacations there, and had already begun learning the language. That helped them have a leg up, right? So I couldn’t help blinking in surprise when, in a visit prior to their leaving on this great adventure, my nephew-in-law expressed something that amazed even him.

Like most Hispanic Americans in Texas, he knew a passable amount of Spanish , even if not feeling completely fluent. Surprisingly enough, though, despite his intensive studying of Japanese for quite some time, he was somewhat abashed to realize that to date he knew more Spanish than Japanese (and we’re talking about a pretty bright cookie here).

Imagine that. Without actually studying the Spanish, his proximity to and rubbing elbows with  the language caused him to know much more than he had even realized. A real life example of osmosis. Even as Johnny shared this mind-boggling fact, the implications hit me like a two ton brick. Osmosis. Affected and changed by close proximity.

No wonder Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” The Greek word for communication here means to run with, to share—or, as other translations say, to be with friends.

Our friends, those with whom we spend time, are important in our lives for more than just the pleasure with which they enrich our lives. Their morals, their values, their language (as in “clean” or vulgar), all these things, whether we like it or not, whether we realize it or not, will, by rubbing elbows with them , influence us. Seems there’s good biblical reasoning behind the saying, “If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas.”

And “communication” is not limited to merely hanging out with friends. In Romans 3:13-15 Paul names parts of the body the unrighteous use—their mouth (things read) , their throat (songs, speech), their feet (where we go physically). In Psalm 191:3 David also says he will not put anything unrighteous before his eyes. Anything through which we rub elbows with this world is a form of communication. And every last bit of that communication has the powerful potential to influence and change us, whether we are aware of it or not. And in case you think you’re Superman and can handle ungodly influences without it affecting you, think again.

David thought he was strong, but his uncontrolled eyes led to his downfall (2 Samuel 11). Uzziah was a good and righteous king, but when he let his thoughts get away from him, he failed to remember that all he had—his kingdom, his kingship— came from the Lord, and he fell to pride, dying an ignominious death (2 Chronicles 26). Even the tragic King Saul started out as a good guy, humble, pliable to God’s will—then he allowed his power and prestige as king to do a number on him and before you know it the once humble king made error after disastrous error because of pride (1 Samuel 25). He lost his kingship and his family. No matter how great we are, how anointed, how talented, how useful in the house of God, if we let how God has used us go to our head, if we let our eyes, ears, thoughts, and actions, entertain things outside of God’s will … If the great ones in the Bible could fall, what makes us think we won’t?

Bottom line: let’s use osmosis for our benefit, like ye olde paper towel picking up spills. Let’s read God’s Word. Let’s fellowship with His people in a church community. Let’s spend time talking to the Big Guy. It might not seem like we’re assimilating a lot of godly attributes. We might not “feel” like we’re learning a whole lot of godly principles. But osmosis is a physical law just as real as the law of gravity.

As we rub elbows with God and His people, I guarantee you that we are assimilating and learning a whole lot more than we realize. So go for it. Go for osmosis. Be that paper towel for Jesus. You’ll be glad you did.

“ He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).