Plumber Pant Droop
I know since I keep my pants from slipping down I cannot qualify as a plumber or fit into a high school crowd. Perhaps teens today have aspirations to be plumbers later in life and emulate their fashion. Are there plumber pant racks at clothing stores? In teen magazines, do they give fashion tips on how to wear the belts loose to get the desired “plumber pant droop”?
I have always been one to like a fully covered… uh… rear. I like the security of a belt around the waist, not around my knees. I think for this reason, tasks associated with plumbing, leaking pipes, or sewers become more of a challenge for me.
Let me begin by saying I do not like water leaks or clogged sewers. Many of my friends who keep their pants at their waistline share this dislike, though I know some other guys who really dig a good leak. They see a challenge, a game between fluid and man. They approach the leak with great enthusiasm. They see a clogged sewer pipe in the same way a mountain climber views Mount Everest. Of course, these guys are plumbers and part of their enthusiasm is their hourly rate.
Now I am not out to get on any plumber’s bad list by making fun of how they wear their pants (although they could avoid being the butt of the joke if they at least checked the guy in the mirror before leaving the house), so I will share my belief they deserve every penny of their hourly rate. They crawl under sinks, pull up toilets, install toilets, and unclog drains… and what is exactly do you think is clogging those drains?
I found the answer to this question first hand when we had a recent sewer clog at our house causing a backup in our basement. I gained a new appreciation for plumbers in cleaning up the basement (bleach, bleach, bleach, and more bleach), but the real challenge was in the obstruction.
After three days, a plumber, an excavation crew, and many interested onlookers, we learned our modern day sewer line was routed through a very old fashion septic tank before connecting into the main sewer line. The roof of the century old septic tank had collapsed between our house and the main sewer line.
The integrity of the septic tank broke due to age, deterioration, and the constant pressure of the ground above it.
Integrity is a principle well expressed throughout the Bible, especially with Joseph. With much jealousy in his family, his brothers sell him into slavery. Joseph winds up in an Egyptian house working for an official of the Pharaoh. The Bible records how trusted Joseph was in Genesis 39:4, “Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.”
Joseph was awarded a coveted position, which did not come easy for a Hebrew in Egypt. Potiphar trusted Joseph to the extent he put all he owned in Joseph’s care. He knew Joseph’s integrity was such that no amount of pressure would cause Joseph to do something wrong.
Genesis goes on to record how Potiphar’s wife continually tried to seduce Joseph, yet Joseph refused her advances. When we consider Joseph’s position and her influence over Potiphar, she could have made things beneficial for Joseph had he submitted to her. Genesis 39:10-12 tells how she pressured him daily with, “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to… be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.”
Here, even though no one was around and there was no chance of being caught, Joseph still refused.
Genesis continues with Potiphar’s wife lying to Potiphar and Joseph winds up in jail, yet God blesses Joseph even in prison. God sees Joseph’s integrity and rewards him, eventually raising this Hebrew to become Pharaoh’s second-in-command. At the time in Egypt, this was the highest position of honor next to the Pharaoh.
God was pleased with Joseph’s integrity, which was present at all times. Joseph did not live by a different set of rules when there was no one around or when he would not be caught. Joseph kept the same standard of righteousness at all times, because he knew the principle explained in Matthew 6:4, “…your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Integrity is an important element in our relationship with God, our family, our friends, our coworkers, and with others. While integrity is an ancient characteristic, integrity is not one to fail due to age, deterioration, or pressure. True integrity does not give, bend, or break under constant force. There are no leaks caused by justification or situational ethics.
Integrity is a character trait often missing in today’s standards, an absence causing plumbing type results in our relationships. If we allow pressure to crack our integrity, a flood of sin will follow, and our relationships will be clogged and foul. Our feelings will be crushed, and, much like a plumber’s belt loops, fall far lower than expected.
Is your integrity leaking or clogged?
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Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
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