Cleanliness, Godliness and me

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

The annual January organization blitz is in full force this year. The release of Marie Kondo's follow up to “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” the rise of "Bullet Journals," and of course the sales on bins and organization systems all promise new ways to make our lives more orderly.

I am the first to admit I am in great need of such systems. I am a terrible housekeeper (sorry Mom - you did teach me better). And since I stopped working regularly, the lack of structure in my day means time seems to get away from me more, and I'm not as productive. 

So the Kondo book is on order, and I actually kind of like this Bullet Journal thing to keep my runaway thoughts and lists in one place. Maybe 2016 will be the year I restore some order and sanity to my life.

Since our physical world is so connected to the spiritual, the need for order has religious implications as well. In this Washington Post column, Author Karen Swallow Prior explores this connection. She clarifies "cleanliness is next to Godliness" is John Wesley, not the Bible, but adds the saying is rooted in a long history of connections between physical and spiritual cleanliness.

"The desire to create order amid chaos, to resist the dirt of decay, reflects the order and purity of the one who created us," she said.

But if taken to extreme, cleanliness and tidiness can bring us to a Pharisaical scrupulousness. The Old Testament is full of rules for cleanliness.

Worse, as we immerse ourselves in this organizational overhaul we can start to think we control the world around us. When it doesn't fit in our nice, neat boxes, we are lost. Even Kondo has a place for things that are necessary but don't fit in her mantra of "sparking joy," like can openers. Life can't always be ordered according to our wishes. 

Cleanliness and tidiness are certainly marks of good stewardship for what God has given us. But God is always in control. In that knowledge, we find peace.

May you be blessed with a clean house, and more importantly a right spirit.