A Homemaker's Deception

"Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."  Ecclesiastes 2:11


When I woke up this morning and surveyed the condition of my house I knew my "to-do list" was going to be a long one! There's a big pile of laundry that needs to be folded and put away, and a bigger pile that needs to be washed and folded and put away. The dishes need to be done, and the floors...I don't even want to talk about my floors!! Plus it's spring and that gets me motivated to declutter in the house and clean up the yard. I get thinking about home improvement projects and needed repairs. I start adding up the money and seeing what we can do and what needs to wait. I start wishing I could do everything all at once and be done with it!!


Keeping my house and yard clean is a good thing. Being a good steward of the things God has given me is a good thing. It's a godly thing.


Unfortunately, my sin gets in the way of every *good thing*. The good  thing, that of being a good steward,  becomes an evil thing when it becomes my *top* priority. When I let having a clean, well manicured home be what brings me satisfaction, then I have become deceived by a great deception. 


It is a lie that my home, no matter how perfect, can give me satisfaction. THAT is IDOLATRY. I would learn that quickly if I ever achieved what I define as *perfection* in my home. I would enjoy a quick moment and then be off to another definition of *perfect*, much higher and grander than my first. 


It is also a lie that an imperfect home, full of constant messes needing my attention, takes AWAY my satisfaction. Believing that lie also shows me that idolatry has taken hold. 


These deceptions lead to other sins: pride believing I am a better homemaker than others  or pride believing a perfect home means there's a perfect homemaker behind it, a harsh attitude towards those who would dare walk in with dirty shoes or who would dare spill  on my clean floor.


It's not wrong to have a feeling of accomplishment over hard work. But it IS wrong to prioritize ANYTHING over my GOD and finding my satisfaction in him.


I can fool myself into thinking that I am *just trying to take care of what God gave me*. But if my delight is in caring for my home to the point that I push out time to spend with my God, then it's pretty clear who my god really is... If my delight is a clean home and not time with my God then I know my priorities are way, way out of whack!! 


"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21


I long for the *perfect*. It cannot be found in the perfect, magazine cover home. It cannot be found in keeping my home perfectly clean. It can only be found in a perfect God.


"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." Psalm 18:30


If I seek perfection in my home and it becomes my satisfaction and delight then I have made an idol with my hands and am worshipping it as a god. Only the True God can satisfy.


"And I--in righteousness I will see Your face; when I awake I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness." Psalm 17:15