Keep House for the Lord

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,’ says the LORD ‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.’” Haggai 1:7-9

Housework! I hate the word. Actually, loathe is probably the optimal word. I do not like to dust, vacuum, clean the toilets, or even do the dishes. But, like I told my sister the other day, I do the housework because it keeps everyone happy. I notice that things go so much smoother around my house when it is clean. My husband comes home happy and we can go out, have fun on a Saturday, instead of doing the work that I should have done during the week.

My piano students even notice when I don’t clean the house. They are five and seven years old and if I haven’t dusted in a week, or two, they point out that the piano feels funny (aka dusty). My student last night was even drawing pictures in the dust when I went to answer the phone. I was so embarrassed. I wanted a do-over. I wanted to be able to dust and get my house cleaned before they came over. But, I did not spend my time wisely, and the housework went undone.
Do you ever wonder what God thinks of your house? Is it pleasing to the Lord’s eye? Does it have too much “stuff” that you never use? Could that “stuff” be given to someone who has never had something like it? Or, is your house falling apart? Do you keep the floors, walls, ceilings clean and void of cracks and holes?

Have you thought about your church in the same way that you think about your own house? Your church should be God’s house. Does the Lord’s house get the same respect as your own?
This past Sunday, November 11, 2007, was Stewardship Sunday around the ABCUSA. Many people spent the month prior to Sunday thinking and praying about what they can do and give to their church to keep it running and out of debt. Then they made pledges and gave what they could to their church. According to ABCUSA General Secretary Roy Medley, United Mission (UM) giving is leveling off from its sharp decline, but is not near stopping in its decline. Giving in the local church usually, but not always, reflects the UM giving.

If you decided to give to your church in this next year, did you do it with the idea in mind that your church is God’s house? I know that if I, and all others in my church, gave comparably as much to God’s house as we spent on our own houses, in “housework” and in money, our church would not lack funds or workers for special projects and other “housekeeping.” I know very few people who actually like doing housework, but I do know that not enough people pitch in to do the housework for God.

Take time to speak to the Lord. Listen to what the needs are for the house in which God lives. It may not be money; it may be volunteering to teach, filling in for a sick janitor, or helping repair a leak in the roof. Whatever it may be, take time to do God’s house work. Take pride in where the Lord lives. Don’t let God’s house become something less than your own house. The care you put into the house of God will translate to visitors as care for the members and people of the church.

Prayer: Lord, help us to listen for the call for help. We know You take pride in Your house and Your people, so help us do the same. In your precious name, Amen.