Spring time brings spring cleaning, and it’s definitely time for that in my house!
When I had my first apartment, I was obsessed with keeping it clean. I don’t mean just making it LOOK clean. I wanted it to BE clean, even on the molecular level: a biohazard-free zone, a place the bubble boy could live if he wanted to. I was convinced that decontaminating my living space was possible. I wore out many a sponge scrubbing with Lysol and Clorox, determined to be able to claim that my apartment was certifiably free of every possible evil germ.
And then I read an article from a team of molecular biologists and chemists, who had proven that the only way to rid your house of every pathogen was to pour bleach over everything and then set it on fire. “We’re not telling you not to clean; using disinfectants definitely reduces the risk of disease and food-borne illness,” the article read. “Just don’t kid yourself that you can rid your house of every bad bacteria and virus. It’s not realistically possible.” Can you guess how quickly I cut back on my cleaning regimen? I still use my Lysol, but I don’t waste my time scrubbing until my elbows crack anymore. Now I just worry about appearances; as long as there’s no sticky juice rings or cracker crumbs, I’m happy. Everything just has to be clean ENOUGH to fool my guests. I’m sure you know what I’m saying.
Ironically, my current attitude about cleaning is the exact opposite of the attitude I need to have about rearing my children. Instead of worrying about how my children appear to the rest of the world (Do they have clean clothes and faces? Do they know their ABC’s?), I need to be concerned with heart change, with growth and development at the spiritual “molecular” level. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t want my kids to be unkempt, and I want them to have a good education. But I can waste time trying to make my children APPEAR smart and well-behaved, or I can prayerfully search for ways to produce godly children that know how to fight off spiritual “germs.” I’ve seen impeccably dressed, polite, straight-A students tell bold-faced lies to their parents, and I’ve seen unimpressive kids with poor reading skills take care of AIDS babies. I don’t want my kids to just APPEAR to be good kids; I don’t want them to simply live up to earthly expectations. I want my kids to be like Jesus.
Who’s up for some spring cleaning?
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
I Samuel 16:7
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Great post! This concept was something that really challenged me when I read Shepherding a Child's Heart. It's amazing how often parents discipline about the things that irritate, and yet ignore the true heart issues. I absolutely don't want to raise little pharisees!
Yeah, ditto EEEEMommy (she's so smart)! If the Lord is most concerned about our hearts, rather than our outward appearances, shouldn't we have the same attitude towards our children? Here here!
Amen sister. I feel that so passionately that I have a hard time taking it one day at a time!
Tag you're it. Can you write a 6 Word Title of you memoir? Check out my blog for details.
Post a Comment