Cleanliness is next to godliness

Imagine bumping into a friend and after a desperate attempt to speak with him, he turns his face away. Does that mean that he doesn’t want to hear what you have to say? “Sometimes, when I board a taxi or bus, all kinds of smells and body odours hit me instantly; smelly socks, bad breath, armpit issues and so on. During those peak hours especially when passengers are all squeezed together such smells are nothing short of torture,” says Daphne Umutoni, a Kigali resident.Like Umutoni, many people are irritated with such smells. So when you wake up in the morning and feel like not having a bath, not brushing your teeth, wearing socks that have never been washed since they were bought 10 years ago, you are not only embarrassing yourself but also making others terribly uncomfortable. Cleanliness does not only come from material acquisition because there are some very poor people who are always smart and clean. People who don’t respect general hygiene are prone to diseases. It is believed that even God does not appreciate dirty people. In the book of Exodus, God insisted before talking to His people, “Sanctify yourselves.” It is understood both spiritually and physically. I guess that is why he gave us water in abundance, in most cases its free (except in urban areas) and refreshing. So why don’t we use it to the maximum?If you are having problems with personal hygiene, here are a few tips on what you can do. •Sit down and thoroughly write a list of things about personal hygiene that are a must for example, brushing your teeth having a bath and so on. •After writing the list, stick the paper at a place where you will be able to see it every morning when you wake up. Call it the hygiene- to -do -list and insist on looking at it every morning and also obeying the rules. If only you abide by them, you will see the dramatic change in yourself. You will also be less offensive to others.