Plumbing

I don’t mean to get personal, but when was the last time you thought about your kidneys?  That’s okay, most people don’t.  They filter about 1,000 pounds of blood every day removing all the waste material and eliminate it from the body through the urine.

When was the last time you changed the filter in your kidneys?  In your car you have to change it every 3,000 miles.  How come you don’t have to change anything in your kidneys?

Speaking of cars, when they’re running low on gas, the “Low Fuel” indicator lights up.  When we’re running low on fuel, the sensation or hunger takes over and we know it’s time to refuel.  In a car, when it’s low on water, the engine’s temperature gauge moves to “Hot.”  Humans just realize they’re thirsty and gladly shell out a buck and a half for a cold bottle soda.

And speaking of temperature gauges, did you know that even when the thermometer says you’re body temperature is 98.6, you have organs that are normally hotter and others that are normally colder.  The body automatically self-regulates both the temperature and the blood pressure of every organ individually.

To do this, the body has a system of glands that secrete hormones that have to be perfectly measured, or the organ and the body cease to function.  The thyroid, for example, that regulates blood calcium, heart rate and digestion, produces only one teaspoonful of thyroxine per year and it has to be released in exact measured doses.  And for most people for most of their lives, that is done perfectly.

Ever have to fix your car and you didn’t have the right tool?  You know what substitutes for pliers, hammers and screwdrivers?  Our hands!  And they’re are also capable of writing, sewing, drawing, soothing, scratching and expressing our innermost, animated thoughts (especially if you’re Jewish).  Our hands are more highly developed than those of any other living creature and are the most marvelous and versatile of all our features.

This wondrous machine, our body, has been entrusted to us for 80, 90, or 100 years, to enjoy the pleasures of this world, to help make the world a better place and to use it in the service of God.

And just as it says in that last clause on a typical car lease, we’ve got to return it back to the Original Manufacturer in good condition (except for normal wear and tear).