The Mundane Redeemed: House cleaning and the gospel

The Mundane Redeemed:  Housecleaning and the gospel

This week I was reminded that our redemption in Christ reaches into every last part of our lives.  There is not one dark or dusty corner left untouched by the gospel.  What was once mundane has now become sacred.  Even organizing action figures or cleaning muddy socks.

Housecleaning is blessed, redeemed work.  This week, I realized that by cleaning my house, I have a chance to teach the gospel to my kids.  I am always going on and on to them about responsibility.  We are all about raising responsible men.  However, I was recently reminded that I also need to be in the business of teaching my children a lot of other things, namely, grace.  Last week, when I picked up one of my sons from Kindergarten his teacher said to me, “Brady got a grace sticker today”.  I knew exactly what that meant.  The children get a sticker on their hand before leaving if they did not get their name on the board that day.  Occasionally, Mrs. K will give a “grace sticker”- a sticker on the hand even though the child got their name on the board.  It is her way of helping the children to learn about undeserved grace from Jesus, by way of a very practical example.  She inspired me to find some grace teaching for the kids at home.  Sitting on the floor of my son’s room, tidying up, it hit me.  In that in that very task, I had a way to show the gospel.  Especially, if I did it joyfully.

We try to teach our kids to clean their rooms.  So as not to exasperate them, I do not insist that it be done perfectly.  Usually, the books are shoved in the bookshelves ‘helter skelter’. The toys are thrown into the closest bin in a highly disorganized fashion.  Periodically, I go in and clean the room “Mommy’s way”.  Granted, in my fallen state, the cleaning of my sons’ rooms is partly selfish: a means of indulging  my tendency to be obsessive-compulsive.  But, it is also a way of showing them grace, by blessing them with a clean room that they didn’t clean. In addition, I clean it in a way they could not clean it themselves.  When they arrive home or see that I have done it, they are excited, especially if I set up the super hero figures in a cool action scene or make sure a few Spidermen are hanging from the cords on the blinds.  But, their happiness is not the main point.  Grace is the point.   My big little seven year old and I got to talking about the gospel on the way home from school.  Half way through our conversation, I asked him if he knew why mommy cleaned up his room for him sometimes.  He looked a little disappointed to be moving from the high and lofty topic of penal substitutionary atonement to him being messy.  But, after a minute, he got it! He said that he was messy and he should have to clean it, but Mommy cleans it to show him grace.  What an easy lesson, and no fancy bible curriculum needed!

Christ’s death on the cross “cleaned up my mess” by absorbing the wrath of God that I deserved.  What grace!  He did what I could never do.   So this week I’m blessed, because scrubbing the bathroom, and things of the like, now have gospel meaning.  Off to wash some muddy socks.

Pepper Potts, a helper most suitable.

Genesis 2:18 as expressed in Popular Culture: Pepper Potts, a helper most suitable.

The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.”  Genesis 2:18

Whether or not women at large embrace it, the truth is that it is built in our DNA to help.  If we look around society, we see that in large part women fill the helping professions: nurses, dental hygienists, personal assistants, administrative assistants, nutritionists, and the list goes on.  While the kind of help that a wife will provide to her husband in marriage is quite exclusive to that relationship, we can see from common observation that women everywhere tend to be naturally inclined toward helping roles.  It is a beautiful thing for the  family, the church and  all of society when women, in the context of marriage, take their God-given desire to help seriously- and therefore faithfully, diligently work towards being a Genesis 2:18, “helper suitable” kind of wife.

That said, nearly ten years into my marriage, I felt like I was supremely failing in this role when I was convicted of my need to grow in “helpfulness” while watching Iron Man.  It probably sounds like I am about to make a joke, but I am not.   Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, personal assistant to Tony Stark (who becomes Iron Man).  Miss Potts diligently, faithfully and proficiently helps weapons manufacturer, Tony Stark throughout the movie.  As I watched Ms. Paltrows portrayal of the role of Miss Potts, I thought to myself (no joke- and yes I know I am a total nerd), “Wow, she has purposed to do Iron Man,  ‘ good and not harm all the days of her life’ {Proverbs 31:12}. “

In the occasion of marriage, women ought to consider the biblical calling to “help” a high and holy honor.  In the scriptures, we find many occasions where God, our Creator, is called our helper. Psalm 118: 7 says, “The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.”   Too often I have found myself irritated when Erik needs help of one kind of another.  How sinful and deceived I am in those moments!  I have always been of the “pull yourself up by your boot straps” mentality, (raised by a dad just one generation out of the depression era).  If there is a problem, fix it!  Something disorganized, organize it!  An obstacle, find a way around it!  While at times that sense of determination can serve me well, at other times it can make me uncompassionate, insensitive and unhelpful.  God says that man needs help- and I have been appointed by God to be a helper.  When I entered the covenant of marriage, I was commissioned to embrace the role of “helper suitable”

Check out the following conversation between Miss Potts and Mr. Stark:

Virgina ‘Pepper’ Potts: I don’t think you could tie your shoes without me.

Tony Stark: I’d make it a week.

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: A week, really? What’s your social security number?

Tony Stark: [he pauses]

Tony Stark: Five…

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: [smiling] “Five?” You’re missing just a couple of digits.

Tony Stark: Right, the other eight. Well, I have you for the other eight.

Through out the movie, Pepper handles all sorts of business for Mr Stark, ranging from saving his life, to arranging his travel itinerary.  She is proficient and dignified in carrying out her duties, and it got me thinking, that I ought to see to my duties as a little more like Miss Potts did hers. A ridiculous way to be reminded of a biblical lesson?  Maybe.  But a good reminder, nonetheless.

Redeemed LIVING blog

Don’t Be Swine Bling

So, the other night I met a dear friend for dinner.  We enjoyed a meal at a local eatery featuring cuisine (supposedly) patterned after the Napa Valley.  We had good food and conversation, but the atmosphere was curious, and subsequently got me thinking.  On their website, the dining establishment had forgotten to post the following {fyi} for their customers, “We have decided to become an {ultra} lounge for loud middle aged women and creepy looking “I borrowed this shirt from a Trader Joes employee” men.”

What nagged at me as the hostess guided us to our table was how loud the women were.  The men didn’t seem loud, they just seemed quietly creepy, which then got me thinking of the garden…the whole scene was very Genesis 3, Eden-esque…women running their mouths and men sitting there without a word.  However, I digress.  Back to women and loudness.  In an unregenerate state, a woman’s loudness or quietness is of little consequence- there are bigger problems in relation to her eternal well-being.

However, for the Christian woman, ones mouth and demeanor matters a great deal.  The occasion served to remind me of how many times I have lacked discretion, and my own propensity toward loud, ungodly behavior & speech.  Honestly, the scene at the restaurant wasn’t all that different than that on a typical evening from my college days in my Christian {shudder} dorm,  {just trade the martini’s for cokes and the middle aged creepy dudes in Hawaiian shirts for 20-something creepy dudes in “His pain…my gain” t- shirts…not sure which is worse- once I again, I digress.)

To my point, Proverbs 11:22 says,  “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”  While a lack of discretion is not only reflected in a woman’s speech, our mouths are a good indicator of discretion or lack there of.  There is something particularly unappealing and off-putting about a loud woman.  When I have found myself being loud, usually what is coming out of my mouth is pure, unadulterated foolishness.  It is not often the case that is what is pouring forth from my loudness is “full of grace” (Col 4:6), or, “a word aptly spoken” (Pr. 25:11).  It is just folly.  Proverbs 9:13 sharply states,  “The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge.”   As I enjoyed my lamb, I couldn’t help but observe the folly that I, but for the grace of God , would be participating in.

I remembered a conversation I had with a Christian woman some years back.  I was very seriously sharing that, while reading Proverbs, I was convicted about my loud mouth.  She quickly retorted, “Well, it isn’t a sin to be loud as long as you aren’t saying really bad things!  You never say bad things! For some people, it is just their personality!”  I say, if I allowed everything in my character to remain that was naturally a part of my “personality”…. I would have to ignore upwards of 50 percent of the scriptures.  I quickly realized that conversation was going nowhere.  A little depressed about the “counsel” I had just received from an older Christian woman, I headed to Starbucks for a pick-me-up and some reflection.  One iced mocha later, I resolved to continue my study in Proverbs, and not ask that lady for advice.

• Back to my dinner experience… it got me thinking as I reflected on the scriptures about just how important it is for the Christ honoring woman to have a tight reign on her tongue. The Christian woman who is careful with her words is tremendous blessing to her church, and those she is close to.    The wayward wife of Proverbs 2 & 7 is said to have seductive words.  I had to wonder (sadly) how many Way ward wives I walked past on the way to my table.
• As our salads came out, another piece of proverbial wisdom came to mind,  “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise…” I wondered how many husbands there are out there who only wish that their wife would restrain her tongue.  The poor guy from Proverbs 21 & 25 who was camped on the corner of his roof would have probably given anything for his wife to get control of her tongue, “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”  While it may not be common for contemporary husbands to be camped out on the roof, I do think that it is wise for those of us who are married or someday desire to marry, to consider how our words are impacting our husbands desire to spend time with us.  Modern examples of “roof corners” may be a husband who is constantly at work, or out constantly washing the car (that is already clean), or mowing the lawn (that is already well manicured), or out pursuing one hobby or another.  It may be that the lack of restraint in our speech or quarrelsome, discretion-less demeanor has pushed him to “the corner of a roof”.  It may be time to stop nagging him to spend more time with you and instead cultivate the type of demeanor where he actually wants to.

All that said, the scriptures teach us that a beautiful woman without discretion is just as out of place as a piece of fine jewelry in the nose of a pig.  While the jewelry on its own may be quite beautiful, if you stick it in a dirty, snorty piggy nose, it loses its desirability and loveliness.  It would be wise of all of us who want to obey the admonition, “Whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…” Col. 3:17 to give great pause before we speak.