A man builds a fine house;
and now he has a master, and a task for life:
he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair,
the rest of his days.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I take great pleasure in housekeeping. Cleaning, tidying and organizing touch something deep inside me. I’ve taken gentle teasing over the years because of it.
The thing about houses and their contents, though, is that no matter how much effort and love is poured into their care, they inexorably deteriorate. Paint chips, plumbing leaks, rugs fade and appliances show their age. No matter how well kept they are, things break and must be replaced — or done without. This is frustrating, but normal. And there is a reason for it.
Think about it. Humans make all these things using stuff taken from the earth. Therefore it is subject to the destruction that has resulted from sin. Everything is under God’s curse (Romans 8:20-21) and no matter how hard we try to hold back that tide, it will engulf everything until the day when all creation “will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.”
I get it. But that doesn’t mean I ignore or encourage it. In fact, I actively fight it — by cleaning, tidying and organizing. Because:
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
Psalm 24:1 New Living Translation (NLT)
God owns it all. I’m just managing it for Him. For now. In my own little corner. For His Kingdom.
So until the day I turn it back to its Owner, I will clean, tidy and organize to my heart’s content. Because I find joy in it, and because I’m “keeping house” for the King.