In God’s order of things, the masculine role is that of being the breadwinner, and the feminine role is that of being a homemaker. Each has a God-given role (function) to perform. Each member of the family has a part to play in making the home beautiful. A strong family unit will have a dynamic leader for a father, a firm but warm-hearted mother, and cooperative children who respect both parents. c) She should major on tidy housekeeping.įamilies everywhere in our society seem to be breaking up and falling apart.b) She should demonstrate kindly respect.c) He should be a considerate companion.When we grow in our love for God and our love for our neighbors we become a godly people. Godliness is a condition that develops in us as we grow in our faith, our knowledge of God and our trust in God’s good will towards us. She knew God was present with her as she cleaned, went to work or church. My mother was a godly woman because she had a tremendous trust in God.
My mother was a godly woman however, it was not the condition of our home that brought her close to God. God is present with us in the messy moments of our lives, or while we are cleaning up. God does not wait for us to vacuum our carpet or wash the dishes. While both cleanliness is an important part of our lives it is not a tool that brings God closer to us.
I am sure parents have used it to encourage their children to clean their rooms or wash behind their ears while priests in medieval times may have used a similar phrase to help encourage cleanliness in their communities to help prevent disease. I understand the many reasons that this commonly used phrase has remained throughout history. Being physical clean did and does help to live together in community. If one were to eat the right things, worship in a certain way and keep the commandments you were, for the most part, considered “clean.” When a person was unable to follow the law, there were washing rituals that would help restore them to a state of being clean. In the Old Testament, cleanliness is most often part of following the law. The Bible does have several references to cleanliness. In fact, he is quoting someone or at least alluding to a commonly used phrase.
The phrase dose not actually appear in writing until 1791 when in his sermon, “On Dress,” John Wesley writes, “Slovenliness is no part of religion…Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness” John Wesley is not the originator of this phrase. Although it seems like something taken right out of Leviticus or Proverbs, it is not. The phrase, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” is not a biblical quote. If there is a connection between cleanliness and godliness, well then, my mother was well connected to God! We once had to replace the flooring in the kitchen and dining room because my mom had mopped the finish off the tile (yes, really). Every night, after dinner, my mother could sweep and mop the kitchen and dining room floors. She would vacuum the carpet every day before she left the house. There was never a dirty dish in the sink or a speck dust on shelf. My mother cleaned our home with the greatest of care.
If the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” is true– my mother would easily rank as one of the godliest people I have ever known. “For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -2 Peter 1:5-8
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