As I was painting the rooms of our home recently I had plenty of time to think about things. This was a major project and involved some heavy cleaning. Some items of furniture had not been moved since Alice moved into the house ten years ago. As I am sure you can imagine I found lots dust and dirt. It occurred to me that my life is much like that. On the outside things look ok I take a shower regularly and put on clean clothes so no one notices the mess in the corners. When I was growing up my mom was not a very good housekeeper on the outside but she was a fanatic about the corners, inside the drawers, and in the cupboards. Things could be a total mess in the rest of the house but her drawers were always neat and tidy. This was a source of endless battles between the two of us. There were lots of issues that I will cover at another time; suffice it to say that I thought she was weird beyond belief.

            It came to me last week that there was really a spiritual principle involved. God cares about and judges what is in my heart. While God’s love is unconditional He looks at all of me all of the time. He loves me and hates the sin in my life. I can put up a good front for the people around me; I can hide my sinful thoughts. Maybe that is what Jesus was talking about when he said “²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’^a ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.^[1]” No one around me can know what I am thinking when I look at a woman at the mall or the swimming pool, but God knows my thoughts. God judges my heart. I believe that a passing thought is not likely to gain His severe judgment. The problem comes when I let that thought hang out in my mind. It becomes like a seed and when it is allowed to take root it grows till there is fruit. The fruit is sin. So just like cleaning house must be done thoroughly and often I must always be vigilant about my thoughts.

            Speaking of cleaning, while I was cleaning the swimming pool I had another thought. When I don’t run the pool sweep every day algae begins to build up very rapidly. I am reminded of the people in the Old Testament who had sacrifices to God every day. When they went into exile in Babylon the king forced them to stop their sacrifice habits. Many even stopped their regular prayer times. We are told that the people started to forget about the wondrous things that God had done for them. At least Daniel and his friends remained faithful in their prayer life. God rewarded Daniel on several occasions and Daniel gained favor with his captors.

            What does this mean for us today? I considered all the listed passages and it seems obvious to me what God wants us to do. ¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. The Holy Bible: NIV, electronic ed., 1 Th 5:16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” The Holy Bible: N I V, electronic ed., Mt 26:41 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984)

³⁸ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” The Holy Bible: N I V, electronic ed., Mk 14:38 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

⁸ I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. The Holy Bible: N I V, electronic ed., 1 Ti 2:8 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. The Holy Bible: NIV, electronic ed., Mt 6:6 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

 ⁵ Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? ⁶And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. ¹⁰ This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. The Holy Bible: NIV, electronic ed., 2 Co 13:5 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. The Holy Bible: NIV, electronic ed., Jas 5:16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

Here is some wise insight from “Wild at Heart” by John Eldgedge. “Against the flesh, the traitor within, a warrior uses discipline. We have a two-dimensional version of this now, which we call a “quiet time.” But most men have a hard time sustaining any sort of devotional life because it has no vital connection to recovering and protecting their strength; it feels about as important as flossing. But if you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your very survival, you would do it. Maybe not perfectly—nobody ever does and that’s not the point anyway—but you would have a reason to seek him. We give a halfhearted attempt at the spiritual disciplines when the only reason we have is that we “ought” to. But we’ll find a way to make it work when we are convinced we’re history if we don’t.”
            “Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of Scripture or any of that. It’s about connecting with God. We’ve got to keep those lines of communication open, so use whatever helps. Sometimes I’ll listen to music; other times I’ll read Scripture or a passage from a book; often I will journal; maybe I’ll go for a run; then there are days when all I need is silence and solitude and the rising sun. The point is simply to do whatever brings me back to my heart and the heart of God.”
            “The discipline, by the way, is never the point. The whole point of a “devotional life” is connecting with God. This is our primary antidote to the counterfeits the world holds out to us.”

                              So was my mom trying to teach a deeper lesson? I’ll never know as she’s gone home now and by time I see her again I’m sure the question will not matter. “²⁰A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.” The Holy Bible : NIV, electronic ed., Pr 15:20 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984). My prayer today is that I will honor the teaching of my mother without judgment of her motives for I believe that is the will of God in this matter. I will seek other truth in her teaching looking for God’s truth at all times. What did your mom teach you that you didn't realize was a lesson?

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