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My granddaughter Adeline stood by the sink washing her hands for longer than usual.

“Lolli, my teacher said you should wash your hands for a long time,” Adeline said. I guess the recommended time of 20 seconds is long for a child. “And don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with dirty hands.”

I was happy that the teacher was reinforcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Hopefully, this practice will remain long after the coronavirus threat is gone.

Then I thought, what if we stressed these applications spiritually? What if we were as careful to keep impurities from entering our souls as we are about our bodies?

I challenged myself to find scriptures that would apply to my eyes, nose, and mouth.

To avoid polluting my heart from anything I watch or read, I thought of David’s pledge in Psalm 101:3. “I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.”

I found a reminder from Paul to “keep my nose clean” and out of other people’s business. “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before,” 1 Thessalonians 4:11.

And to avoid infecting myself and others with negative words or gossip, I challenged myself to speak only to encourage, inform, or instruct. In Peter’s letters, he wrote, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies,” I Peter 3:10.

Those three verses are now on an index card placed on the mirror over my sink. I was curious to see how long it would take me to read them and smiled when I looked at the stopwatch – 20 seconds.

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.