Some songs become anthems in their time. There are many hymns which have managed to survive the ages, and a few contemporary praise songs have already etched a place into the place you would etch something. Woven into the fabric of our lives. Every cliche that says it is something you will remember. The Bible is full of stuff we are supposed to remember. The Last Supper. Jesus says "do this in remembrance of me." And so we do, or at least some of the churches do. I'm not sure how people manage the rules in the Bible to select the ones they think will count. When the big guy says we should do it, it seems like a deal breaker if we don't. It's not like other rules.
Urinal spacing you ask? I believe there is an unwritten rule about how close two urinals can be together. In our church, in the main church building, we have a men's room. It contains three toilet stalls and two urinals. In most bathrooms the urinals have a little wall between them. The wall of separation. Not ours. Our urinals are about 8 inches apart with no wall. In my 19 years of attending this church, I have not once seen two men use the urinals simultaneously. If one is taken, you go use a toilet stall. In church we can be buddy-buddy and even hug another guy, but once you enter the men's room, all bets are off. No talking.
What about the rules for construction. Some people quote construction "codes" like they wrote them. A fence cannot exceed 6 feet high when it backs up to a residential roadway, but if it is a city highway, the wall can be 15 feet. I'm not sure if that is true, but it sounds good. Wherever that code is, it probably is right next to the code for urinal spacing.
Urinal spacing you ask? I believe there is an unwritten rule about how close two urinals can be together. In our church, in the main church building, we have a men's room. It contains three toilet stalls and two urinals. In most bathrooms the urinals have a little wall between them. The wall of separation. Not ours. Our urinals are about 8 inches apart with no wall. In my 19 years of attending this church, I have not once seen two men use the urinals simultaneously. If one is taken, you go use a toilet stall. In church we can be buddy-buddy and even hug another guy, but once you enter the men's room, all bets are off. No talking. Awkward as it may seem, you can listen to the service through overhead speakers. This idea had to come from a man who thought up this great distraction to avoid conversation. "Sorry Bob, can't talk right now. I am concentrating on the sermon."
Maybe the urinals are put there as a test. Male bonding. We all failed.
Maybe the urinals are put there as a test. Male bonding. We all failed.
So why the urinal blog?
It occurred to me we like excuses to avoid uncomfortable situations. Speakers in a restroom give us the excuse not to talk. "I thought you were going to talk to him" is a good way to avoid greeting visitors on Sunday. "I don't have time to share everything this person needs to hear, or answer all their questions" is a good excuse to walk away from an opportunity to share your faith with someone. Too many people avoid.
Too many Christians use "I want to be nice" to avoid telling someone what they need to hear.
There are lots of stories in the Bible about confrontation. There is no lesson to be learned in a story without conflict. Think about that.
Conflict draws us close. If closer is good, conflict must be okay. Avoidance separates us. If separation is bad, our urinals must be okay.
It occurred to me we like excuses to avoid uncomfortable situations. Speakers in a restroom give us the excuse not to talk. "I thought you were going to talk to him" is a good way to avoid greeting visitors on Sunday. "I don't have time to share everything this person needs to hear, or answer all their questions" is a good excuse to walk away from an opportunity to share your faith with someone. Too many people avoid.
Too many Christians use "I want to be nice" to avoid telling someone what they need to hear.
There are lots of stories in the Bible about confrontation. There is no lesson to be learned in a story without conflict. Think about that.
Conflict draws us close. If closer is good, conflict must be okay. Avoidance separates us. If separation is bad, our urinals must be okay.
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