Christian Living

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IS YOUR HOME READY?


As Christians, we need to have our house in order at all times. Yes, this is a metaphor for much more than having a clean home, although having your house ready is a part of it. I want to discuss integrity. Integrity is defined in many ways (look up definitions). Another way to think of integrity is to do the right thing even when nobody is watching you. Few people have perfected integrity, including me. This is not to show what I do wrong or what you do wrong. This is to show what we should do right. We our ambassadors for Christ. We represent our Lord in all we say and do.

When I ask “Is your home ready?” I am talking about being ready to receive visitors or guests. At church we have been blessed with more and more visitors and so far the Lighthouse Church has left a good impression on these visitors. Is it because we give them special treatment when they arrive? Is it because we roll out the red carpet and have a celebration every time a visitor comes through those doors? No! It is because we are doing what we do as Christians in the House of God. We smile and say welcome. We introduce ourselves, we talk with them about what our church offers, we talk about the weather, about the future of our church, and many other things. When people visit our church they find love. Love that we are commanded to give to all our neighbors. It is easy to do this when we are at church.

When we put on our Sunday best and head to church to worship God and to learn His Word, we get ourselves ready in many ways. Yes, we like to dress up for Sunday morning service. We make sure we have our Bibles, our highlighter, our pens/pencils, and other items that we feel we need to properly attend church. We also mentally prepare to worship. We get our minds set to receive and hear the Word through Sunday School and Morning Service. We get ourselves in “Christian Mode” when we go to church. Everyone dons their smiles and warm greetings. We go knowing that we will fellowship with the other members of our church. When we are in the right spirit for church, we make sure we are living up to the standards set forth in the Bible. It is this that makes it so easy to greet and receive our guests. For most of us, it is this way every Sunday (morning and evening) and every Wednesday, that we come into the House of the Lord with the right spirit. The question posed “Is your home ready?” deals a little with this right spirit of worship and fellowship. But, what about Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. What about those days that you are at work or at home. Is your home ready?

Let me use my military background to help support this lesson. As an E-6 and leader, I am not only responsible for making sure that everyone is doing their job and the work is getting done. I am also responsible for my subordinates professional growth. It is my job not only to make sure that they are doing the required work, but I have to make sure that they are learning more about their jobs, learning about leadership, and more about the military. As a leader I also must help them develop personally as well. It would not do me or the service any good if my workers are out getting in trouble or doing something that would prevent them from accomplishing their duties. The military is developing a mentor program to help leaders help junior service members. Leaders are now asking about personal lives and the choices the juniors are making. We have to deal with the realities of life. Deaths in families, substance abuse (including alcohol), pay issues, and other situations that affect our young sailors and marines. There have been times where a subordinate had to come to my home to talk with me. When they come to your home, they are looking at your life as much as you are at theirs. Your home needs to show that you are ready to receive them. If your house is a mess then they will doubt your ability to help them. The same thing applies to helping the lost. We must have our homes ready to receive guests at all times. There may be a time when the spirit leads a lost soul to your home for you to witness or counsel. Is your home ready? Are you going to be able to receive the guests?

I use this lesson as much for myself as for anyone here listening. Is my home ready? Can I be that example 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year or am I only ready two days a week, three if I go on Saturdays? We do not always know God’s plans, but we need to be always ready to follow His leading.

It was mentioned last week about us being a Bible for some. There are lost souls out there looking at us to see how we act, to see how we talk, to see how we dress, to see what Christians are like. We may be the only Bible they read. Is your home ready? We may not declare our beliefs, but people always seem to be able to put two and two together. They may see you dress up every Sunday and leave your home. It does not take a big leap of deductive reasoning to guess that you are going to church. So they watch on Monday. Is your home ready? Are you out at the bar Friday night? Are you blessing or cursing on Thursday? It is what people see of us between church services that make the impression. Everyone can be Christ-like when they go to church service. It is easy to mingle among fellow Christians and behave properly. It is when we are away from other Christians that we are called to witness.

I am going to using drinking for an example. I was a pretty heavy drinker before I was saved. I enjoy the flavor of several alcoholic beverages and I liked the relaxing feeling I would get after drinking a couple. After I was saved I no longer had the desire to get drunk, but I didn’t see drinking alcohol as a sin. We have had lessons on “new wine” and “old wine” about what the Bible says about drinking alcohol. Opinions will always vary. I know longer find alcohol appealing and choose not to partake. This does decision does not give me license to judge the choose in other believers. I know that the Spirit will deliver from vices, sometimes it may take some time. Allow the Spirit to work. However, there are non-believer that are watching and they see the Christian drinking a beer. They see that Christian socializing with drinkers. Are you giving a good ministry when you are drinking alcohol? The answer may seem obvious, but there was a point where it wasn’t so obvious. I went through a stage where I thought it only bad to become intoxicated by alcoholic beverages, but to have one or two socially was acceptable. In my own personal studying I realized that I was mistaken. If something is seen as improper then out of love I am obligated to stop participating or doing what is seen as improper. For that will become a stumbling block to that person and may prevent them from receiving the Good News of God. I chose to stop drinking in order to prevent myself from becoming a stumbling block to others. Is your home ready? Let me stop here on that subject because I don’t want to lose focus on the big picture. It is not the drinking, the smoking, or any particular habit or behavior. It is about whether the action is hindering the work of the Spirit or not.

We can talk about housekeeping and cleanliness when asked is your home ready? Because first impression last the longest. If for example, the Spirit moves on you to witness to a neighbor or a co-worker by inviting them to your house for fellowship or a study then your house should be ready to receive them. I am not trying to embarrass anyone by using this example. I am illustrating a point. If the Spirit moves on you to invite a co-worker to your home so you may witness then you refuse the Spirit because your home is a mess. Partial obedience is disobedience. Now you have disobeyed the will of God because you didn’t clean today. That is a part of what I am talking about. The other point I want to make is that we (not our house, our belonging, our clothes) need to be ready at all times to serve the Lord to our fullest capacity. Are you at home watching something that you shouldn’t be watching. Are you at Wal-Mart speaking badly. Are you arguing with your spouse or children in front of people. Are you not acting as Christ would in a situation? Is your home ready?


© Christian Coutts

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