“You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. The camp must be holy, for the LORD your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you. [Deuteronomy 23.12-14]
The restroom is not the place to have fellowship with God. And yet, people often have the bulk of their 'devotional time' while relieving themselves.
Why is it bad to use the time in the restroom to read God's Word or pray? This question could take volumes to answer. But there is a quick and simple reason we should consider: Holiness means a lot to God.
Jesus pointed out the following:
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39]
The Scriptures point to Jesus in symbolism. The list of symbolic references to Jesus in the Old Testament is long. In fact, according to what Jesus said in John 5.39, we might find Jesus in every story of the Old Testament.
So, back to the restroom...
God sees the place where people relieve themselves the same way as people do - it's a place designated for waste. Everything about it has to do with that which is used, odorous and unclean. What does it say to God for a person to choose to 'fellowship' with God in such a place? The symbolism of doing so is terrible.
One thing is for sure about modern society: we have no concept of living lives symbolic of what we believe. The cliche' "nothing is sacred" is sadly true. It's not just the restroom where we disrespect God - the restroom thing is indicative of the greater problem of our failure to understand holiness.
As gross as it may seem to address this here, it must be understood that it was addressed in the Bible first! Where we meet with God matters. There is a reason most toilets and activities involving the toilet are behind closed doors today! We don't want others to see or experience that event, and so, why should we want to meet with God Almighty there?
While this topic IS about the disrespect of 'meeting with God' in the restroom, it also should be seen as a reminder about how we see God in general regarding His holiness... And, it's not about appearances! It's about how we respect God - whether others see it or not.
Jesus very much taught us to respect God with the first item of how He taught us to pray:
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. [Matthew 6.9]
How symbolically holy do we keep the name of God if the bulk of our 'time with Him' is in a place of refuse?
Father, help us to see the importance of our attitude about Your holiness. Help us to see the things we do that disrespect You. Help us to have such a relationship of intimacy with You that we consider Your holiness in every single detail of our lives.
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