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Living In Grace

A Christ inspired work dealing with American Christian Culture in the New Century.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Scrubbing the Surface

As I was pondering the mysteries of life this week ( not!! ) I felt it would be prudent to interrupt my regularly scheduled post for something that has been weighing on me.  It really is a simple matter but with consequences for everyone involved.  I do not know how I have lived this long without dealing with this issue more thoroughly.  How clean is my house?  I mean really.  When was the last time the furniture was moved, the baseboards scrubbed, the ceiling fan spotless ( don't ask ), and all the beds made?



If you have kids like we do you know that they are little dirt magnets ( 3 boys ) and self-contained demolition crews.  They can enter a room and in 2.5 seconds have everything overturned and dismantled.  They are truly little whirlwinds that blow in, blow up, and blow out leaving destruction and mayhem behind them ( well not quite that bad ).  Between them and myself my poor beleaguered wife ( the fabulous Mindy Kay ) can barely keep up.
Disclaimer:Not our House

When someone calls and says they plan on stopping over do the sirens blare and the vacuum rev in an effort to minimize the embarrassment of an untidy house?  Do you, like many of us, attempt to ward off the unexpected visitor with all manner of guile until ample time has been given to straighten, clean, and polish?  Do things get shoved into closets, under beds, or ( gasp! ) actually cleaned to give the appearance of order and decorum:  After all, cleanliness is next to Godliness isn't it? ( 1 Martha Stewart 2:12 )

Are our temporal houses microcosoms of what is occurring in our spiritual lives?  Do we put on airs while among the saints but retain clutter and filth                      ( unconfessed sin ) in our souls?  Do we fake it around particular people in certain places to appear righteous despite the sins that are swept into the back rooms so no one can see them?  Hypocrisy is a blight and worthy of the harshest condemnation as evidenced by our Lord's dealings with the Pharisees.  Outwardly  their cups were clean but inside they were full of lies, hate, and corruption and were castigated for their pretense.

We, as believers, need to do better.   Hiding sin neither honors our Lord nor provides a firm foundation for lasting friendships.  If the foundation is rotten the whole structure is also unsound and will come crashing down around us.  Be sure  your sin will find you out because dirt under the rug is not removed only hidden and will only migrate to other more noticeable parts.  Confession, daily repentance, prayer, and study are among the things that will reveal our true nature to us and lead to a deeper walk with Jesus Christ.

Do you have unconfessed sin?  Are you a  believer in God through Jesus Christ and the redemption found at the Cross?  If not then today is the day of salvation for the Lord commands all sinners everywhere to repent and turn towards Him.  Think about it.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

My place is often a mess, even though I haven't got children. It's an in between place with most importantly a bed that I love dearly. Whenever someone comes I clean up. I actually clean up, maybe put things in cupboards where they don't belong, or when given a really short notice, just shove it in boxes and store it in the basement.

I don't do this because I want to look better in front of others. I do it because my place has a certain functionality when there are no strangers around. With strangers around it serves another function, from a place to simply live it becomes a place to host and thus I clean. I don't think this is hypocrite.

As a matter of fact, I think it would probably make my guests really uncomfortable if I would receive my guests when there's dirty laundry in between the books on the floor, an open trunk on the couch and dishes on the table.

It would only be hypocrite if I were to tell my guests that my place is always as clean as it is. But can the intention to honour a guest be a sin?

March 15, 2011 at 1:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great message! I can totally relate. I have 3 boys as well and they are little destroyers, especially my 1 year old. Though it's okay to sometimes cover up the mess in our house, we can't hide the mess inside of us. Hiding it and ignoring it only piles it up. Thanks for the reminder:)

Thanks for stopping by my website. You are a really good writer. I look forward to your blogs.

Blessings to you and your family:)

March 15, 2011 at 8:30 AM  
Blogger Luther said...

Clouds, We are comanded in Scripture to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith ( which in my opinion includes sprucing the place up ). However, it is not the introspection that is the sin but rather the false pretense of always being " holy ".

March 15, 2011 at 12:03 PM  
Blogger Luther said...

Amanda, thanks for the compliments and since you have three boys you most definetly can relate. We do not have to show all our dirty laundry to everyone, that is unwise, but I feel from a biblical perspective we must be honest about our failings and that the inside is infinetly more valuable than the outside

March 15, 2011 at 12:09 PM  

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