The Singing Scoutmaster: The Dirty Dish Lesson

After dinner at camp, someone says, "Let's clean these dishes later." So they sit. The food dries. The grease hardens. What would have taken two minutes of easy washing now requires ten minutes of hard scrubbing. And if you wait even longer, you'll attract ants and other animals.

This is the dirty dish lesson: small messes left unattended become big problems. It's true in camp, and it's true in life. That small assignment you postpone becomes a crisis. That minor misunderstanding you don't address becomes a major conflict. That simple task you skip becomes a complicated issue.

A Scout is clean, and that means addressing small messes before they become big ones. Clean your dish right after using it. Clean your gear right after a trip. Handle small problems before they grow. Because maintaining cleanliness is always easier than recovering from filth.