matter?
I can think of four questions that might help discern this.
First, does a clean house matter to your husband? If one of our goals as a wife is to make our home a haven for our husband, then we should keep his haven to the standard he would appreciate. Our husband is really where we need to go to find balance. If we tend to over clean our husband will set us straight, if we tend to be lax he will ask for more to be done. Listen and obey!
Secondly, is a messy house the rule or the exception? Disorder is not a part of God’s character and should not be a common part of our lives.
Everything should have a place and if it doesn’t, get rid of it. When the clothes no longer fit in the dresser, give some away. A young mom I know lived in a small two bedroom home. Within a few years there were three little ones sleeping in one bedroom, sharing one dresser. This wise mother minimized their wardrobe and made it work!
Bedrooms aren’t the only room that collects clutter; kitchens can
be notoriously hard to keep in order. Gadgets can be helpful, but-this is a big but, if you do not have room to store them then they are NOT a help.
Today I have three gadgets sitting on my kitchen counter. This is
only okay because I have extra counter space. If we move to a home with a smaller kitchen, the gadgets will go!! We use these handy tools, yet, they are not necessary.
Thirdly, why is there a mess?
Acceptable reasons:
Waiting until after company leaves to pick up
Injury or sickness is keeping work from getting done
Unexpectedly called out
Unacceptable reasons:
Waiting until children in bed, then too tired—even small children
need to do what they are capable of
Lazy, don’t “feel” like picking up--doing what’s needed despite
feelings is a major life skill
Mom is unable to keep up, while older children sit on the couch--This is so wrong, Mom stop thinking that doing everything for your
children is helping your children, it is NOT!
Lastly, does clutter keep your family from showing hospitality? God tells us to show hospitality, if a messy, unclean home keeps us from doing that, then it is keeping us from obeying our Lord.
Think personally, haven’t some of your best conversations been
sitting on a worn out couch with a friend or with a mug of hot tea at the kitchen table? People are important! There is no better way to reach out to others than to welcome them into your home. Having a picked up and clean house is important if it is affecting hospitality.