My family and I clean our church twenty-six weeks a year. Every other week we can be seen at our church lovingly cleaning the toilets, mopping the floors, and picking up bits of trash left behind by the other members during our weekly meetings. Our church has a budget for this cleaning, but my husband and I firmly believe that this money should go back to the church.
I was fortunate as a new believer to have a bible study teacher who pounded this point home to me. The point is this: that the church is an extension of our homes,but like, a thousand times bigger. When visitors come to our home, we get excited, we prepare, we bring out the good china. The body that gathers should have that same attitue.She reminded us weekly that it was OUR responsibility, not the janitors, to replace empty spools of toilet paper, to pick up the bits of trash that someone carelessly discarded, and to put the pew Bibles back where they belonged after a meeting in the sanctuary.
I never forgot those lessons.
From the time our children were very young I taught them to pick up after themselves, to put things back where they found them, and if we were out in public to pick up anything they saw out of place and return it to its rightful place. Sometimes the children were happy and proud to do this; sometimes they became angry at the carelessness of others. We always used these teachable moments to remind the children that they are part of something bigger than what they can see with their eyes.
As children of God, we are to take care of the world He has created for us, much like Adam did in the garden. While the world is not the place of perfection it once was, we are still responsible to care for the things He has blessed us with, to be good stewards.
That means, for our family, if we are out, and we see trash on the ground, we pick it up and carry it to the nearest trash can; we don’t step over it and walk away. There have been times of course, when we’ve been in a hurry and have walked away, but over all we adhere to this self imposed “rule” we’ve placed on our conscience. It’s not a “rule” we expect all believers to adhere to, but it’s where our Lord has pricked OUR conscience.
My son, particularly has had a harder time than the other children when he witnesses people being careless and slothful. He knows the few seconds it takes to throw that trash away is sometimes tripled for the person who comes behind to clean up what someone carelessly tossed out of their moving car. He gets angry. He becomes bitter. The other day we were talking about JUST such an occasion when he was angry about someone leaving food out, trash out, tables dirty etc…and I gently reminded him, with one word.
God
It’s all God’s. When we do it are we doing it for man’s praise or God’s glory?
He hung his head.
It is easy to get distracted and puffed up at the great job we may be doing but we should never lose sight of the fact that what we do, we do for the glory and honor of God.
How do you keep God’s house? Do you keep His house like it was your own? Are you excited when you are expecting company? Do you add special touches? Do you do your part to make this world just a little nicer by picking up after some careless person? It is a great way to open the door for conversation. I’ve had many people ask me why we pick up trash, return items to their original places in the store and volunteer for the thankless job of church cleaning. Each time my answer is the same:
We do what we do for the Glory and Honor of God.
Are we a perfect little Christian family? Of course we aren’t, we struggle just like you do with anger, bitterness, pride and our own slothfulness, but our overarching goal is to glorify Him with our lives, in every area. It can start with you picking up that trash you see in the parking lot of the grocery store. Little by little as your thinking changes you’ll find that when you’re in church, and you notice something the janitor missed, instead of complaining about it, you’ll realize that you can help, BECAUSE you ARE one of His children and when people come to visit your Father, you’ll want the house to look nice…
“So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.” I Corinthians 10: 31
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