A USED BAR OF SOAP

        Yesterday I replaced my bar of Irish Spring shower soap and put the old one in a box with a half dozen other used bars I can’t seem to toss out. Some people use their expensive soap bar down to a sliver, but mine is so cheap I feel I can get a new one it when it gets that small. But it can still be used, so I save it in a box. It just doesn’t seem right to toss them out if they’re still usable. And they don’t melt together like some brands. Tried that once.
        This partly comes from my upbringing not to waste things. I also turn off the lights when I leave a room, including some I’m told use more electricity starting up than to leave them on all day. And I always make sure the outside doors are tightly closed. But there’s another reason about soap.
        A dozen or more years ago I watched a program about an American who rented a boat rowed by an African man for a trip to a village down river. He talked with the African and discovered the man earned only about $30 a month to feed his family of five. This $10 trip was quite valuable to him.
        Not wanting to embarrass the man by commenting on such a small amount, the American asked, “If you had an extra $10, what would be the first thing you would buy with it.” “Soap for bathing,” the man said without hesitation. “We rarely have enough for soap and it would keep my family more healthy.” That comment often comes to mind when my bar of soap gets small.
        I have a pastor friend who has developed and operated a mission on the El Paso/Mexico border for over four decades. At church conferences Pastor Karl Heimer of Isleta Mission often reminds the people of a box in the back of the room where people can put their partly used bars of soap or extra shampoo which he will take to the people served by his mission. “They will all be used gratefully.” he says. I think that’s where I’ll take my used bars this fall.
        Jesus once said, “If you did it [something good] for the least of these, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40) That probably includes even giving away a used soap.
        It’s what is in our heart that counts, not the size of our gift. Of course, we who are richly blessed cannot excuse tiny gifts with that sentiment. Jesus reminds us in Luke 12:48, “From whom much is given, will much be required.”
        I hope you don’t have a guilt trip every time you toss something usable. But even a used soap bar can have value to the right person.

I wonder if that American tipped the man an extra $10 at the end of the trip...

Rev. Bob Tasler
Your gifts gratefully received by: Ysleta Lutheran Mission, 301 S. Schutz Dr., El Paso, TX 79907