Rinse and Repeat.

It will soon be time to buy my annual bottle of shampoo.  No, I don’t buy a five gallon pail once a year.  A normal sized bottle lasts me a long time.  You know why.

The instructions on a bottle of shampoo have become a mocked cultural idiom:  “Rinse.  Repeat.”  First, isn’t it obvious how to use a product like shampoo?  Second, is this not a blatant, intelligence-offending attempt to get the consumer to use more product so they will buy more product?  Repeat?  How often?  Once?  Twice?  Until the bottle is empty?  Theoretically, the cycle is endless.

Taken as a metaphor for life, online language aficionados suggest “Rinse. Repeat” has come to represent the problem of uncritically stumbling through life without thoughtful engagement.  Do what you are told without thinking about it.  

I’m certain there are times when “Rinse and repeat” are good instructions that do need to be followed.  For example, if you are sanitizing a water tank with some kind of acid, you may want to “rinse and repeat” several times.  If you spill battery acid on your hand, you may want to “rinse and repeat.”  Nonetheless, there is great value in learning to evaluate the efficacy of a set of instructions before blindly falling down the rabbit hole.

“Rinse. Repeat.” may also be a good metaphor for the idea of “living by faith.”  How many of our expressions of faith are of the blind repetitious variety?  Why do I do what I do?  Is my heart and mind engaged in my expressions of faith - praying, singing, reading Scripture, etc.?  If so, for how long?  Or am I the only one whose mind can easily wander during those moments?  

There is also the other side where “Rinse. Repeat.” is a necessary and beneficial discipline.  The Apostle Paul admits to his struggle for a “righteous living-by-faith” life in Romans 7.  He lamented that he often did things he knew he shouldn’t and didn’t do things he knew he should.  He and we fight this battle every day.  There is a need to “Rinse. Repeat.”  The theological term used to describe this process is another “R” word:  “Repentance.”

It is not a hugely popular word, “repentance.”  Unfortunately, it carries a principally negative connotation.  In reality, this should be understood in a positive sense.  To repent means “embrace the new, abandon the old.”  It is a term of displacement.  Repentance is the thoughtful engagement in the new thing because it is understood the old is of no value or damaging in its nature.  Mindlessly lathering our hair over and over again with shampoo has no value.  Allowing battery acid to burn our skin is foolhardy.  In one case we need to stop the same-old, same-old.  In the other we need to actively engage to neutralize the damage being inflicted.

The common denominator is mindfulness.  How do our habits align with a life of faith in God?  Whether it is the routine of our faith life or the challenging pursuit of righteousness, we must be intentional.  A great question to regularly ask of ourselves is, “Why am I doing this?”

Sometimes it is helpful to rephrase the question.  “What does this faith (or sin) habit say regarding my beliefs about God and His created order?”  Paul asked himself this question in Romans 6.  “Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound?”  (The answer is, “NO!”)  Knowing my own heart, I suspect we are all guilty of leveraging God’s grace against our propensity to sinful behaviour.  The struggle is real for all of us.

So, what to do?  Allow me to introduce one more word:  “Reflection.”  The psalmist uses the word, “meditate” (Psa. 1, 19, 77).  The idea is to take time to pause and reflect on how my understanding of God and His created order is impacting and integrating into our daily grind of life.  Or, as I said earlier, living intentionally.  Living by faith is not about attaining greater spirituality or religious insights.  It is about increasing our awareness to God’s faithful presence, thus changing our perspective on everything.  

When we do our daily “Rinse. Repeat.” routine, it is a great moment to pause and remember our to be mindful of our faith integration to the regular day-to-day of life.  Is there a habit that needs to be eliminated?  One that needs to be reconsidered?  A new one that should be learnt?  

What opportunity will we have to represent Christ well today?