Messy Homes vs. Messy Hearts

Messy Homes.
Let's get real. We all have them at some time. You know how I know this to be true? Because we live in our houses. And life, well, it gets messy from time to time.

Messy homes are far too easy to obtain. Have you ever noticed that things in your home - no matter how hard you try - tend towards disorder, disarray, and chaos rather than neatness, organization, peace, and tranquility? And all the moms of toddlers just said, "Amen." But seriously, in order to get a messy house, it's simple. Simply do nothing. Do a lot of nothing. For a relatively consistent span of time. And voila! Messy house status achieved.

The other thing about messy homes that gets me is that cleaning a non-stop endeavor. Like, seriously, Non-stop. One night (or maybe it was a weekend?), when my husband was home from work, I was busily rushing around trying to complete everything on my cleaning/chore to-do list, so I could enjoy myself with the family (knowing all things were in order, under control, and "done").... when I look over at Jeff and he's just sitting there. I'm like, "What are you doing?!" He said, "I'm resting. There's always going to be something to do." My quick-witted response was something along the lines of "yeah, but the more you sit around and wait, the more stuff just piles up and you have more work to do later." It didn't make a ton of sense, my logic. But it helped get a point across that I just couldn't rest and enjoy family time if our house wasn't in tip-top shape. (In case you're wondering, he soon got up and helped me, more out of pity that day than anything else. I must also add here that Jeff is a good man and helps me all the time around the house without even being asked. I think on that particular day he was just trying to encourage me to rest.) Something about my knack for organization and my personality that craves order (or is it a feeling of control? Eek.) just sometimes won't let me rest.

So what's this about messy hearts? What does a messy house have to do with a messy hearts? I'm glad you asked.

One day, while I was going about my day, going through my to-do list of chores-for-the-day and cleaning my house, I felt as though God was using all this to teach my little heart a huge lesson. In all reality, God doesn't care about our messy or clean-in-tip-top-shape houses, yours or mine. Sure, sure, there's a counter-argument for that statement as well as plenty of phrases I've heard all my life like, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Order is a Godly principle for sure, but it can also become an external god if we are not careful. In essence, what I meant to say is this: WHEN COMPARED TO THE CONDITION OF OUR HEARTS, God doesn't care about our messy or clean-in-tip-top-shape houses. He'll take notice of the matters of the heart over the looks of our houses any day. How do I know? Look up the story of Mary and Martha. Martha's doing good works, for sure; but it's Mary that has chosen the good part - the part that cannot be taken away from her. 

Specifically, as I was doing the dishes - the same, old dishes - for what felt like the 114th time that week, God spoke to my heart. I got to hand-washing a coffee mug of Jeff's and as I was scrubbing the outside of the mug, I was thinking, "What am I doing? That part doesn't even get touched." It reminded me all too much of the Pharisees in the Old Testament and the example Jesus gave them of being white-washed sepulchres. They were squeaky clean on the outside, but their insides were dead-as-a-doornail. Okay.

And that's when it hit me that messy houses can be likened to messy hearts. 

How so?

Let's start at the beginning and see, shall we?
Messy Hearts.
Let's get real. We all have them at some time. You know how I know this to be true? Because we live - truly who we are deep down inside - in our hearts. And life, well, it get messy from time to time.

Messy hearts are far too easy to obtain. Have you ever noticed that things in your heart - no matter how hard you try - tend towards disorder, disarray, and chaos rather than peace and tranquility? And all the let's-be-honest-with-ourselves-and-drop-the-facade people just said, "Amen." It's far too easy to clean up on the outside and let the inside, unseen things (in essence) rot away.

The other thing about messy hearts that gets me is that ridding ourselves of the junk in our hearts is a non-stop endeavor. Like, seriously, Non-stop. Jeff and I work on memorizing a Bible verse together every week. (Now before you're like, "Wow! Look at them." Let me tell you, we just started doing this together.) This past week, we focused on the verse Ephesians 4:29, which says, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." If you'd like the challenge of a non-stop endeavor, I challenge you to memorize and live out that verse, friends.

Philippians 4:8
Whatsoever things are true and honest. Whatsoever things are just and pure. Whatsoever things are lovely. And of a good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, thinks on these things. Think upon these things.