Tidy Up Time!

Today I want to talk about the phenomenon that is Tidy Up Time.

I'm not talking about what we say to the children in the classroom before lunchtime, I'm talking about that moment, especially in my family, when Grandma announces she's coming for a surprise visit and you whizz around the house, making sure everything's clean, tidy and in a proper order.

As a more extreme example, imagine if the Queen suddenly decides to use your house as the setting for a TV broadcast, followed by an entourage of security guards, assistants and film crew.

What would you do first?
What would be the first thing you move out of sight, brush under the rug or stash in a cupboard?
What would you be so embarrassed or ashamed for her to see that you actually remove it from the house?

Perhaps it's a DVD or a magazine you don't think they'd approve of. Maybe it could be a diary or journal that you're not comfortable in sharing. It could even be your internet browsing history; don't you think the security guards will vet you before allowing the Queen to come in?! Some of you might throw your cigarettes down the toilet or pour that alcohol down the drain.

My question for you is this:
If Jesus were to walk into your house today, what would you not want Him to see?

What would you try to hide from Him and would you put on those "airs and graces" in order to appear better, more "holy"?

My second qusestion is this:
WHY BOTHER?!

God is omniscient; He is all-seeing and all-knowing. There is absolutely nothing that you can hide from Him. You only have to open the Bible and there are over one hundred confirmations of this:

Job 31:4 - Does He not see my ways, and count all my steps? (NKJV)

Jeremiah 23:24 - Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. (ESV)

Psalm 44:21 - Would God not discover this? For He kows the secrets of the heart. (AMP)

I could go on and on, but I won't. I think these examples make my point. 

You can't hide from God, people! He sees everything. He understands everything. Even those things which you have expertly concealed from your friends, family, perhaps even from yourself.

If there's something in your life that you don't think God would approve of. If you're already convicted in your own spirit that it's not in line with God's Spirit, then why is it in your life at all? 

As it says in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters, either you will hate the one and love the other, or you can be devoted to one and despise the other." - of course, this scripture is relating to money and wealth, but I think it's transferrable to anything that we can put on a pedestal or spend a large amount of our time and energy on.

This brings me to the topic of idol worship. Now I'm not going to get on my high horse here, because I think it's a topic worthy of its own discussion, however, it is worth a mention. 

If Jesus were to walk into your house, would you take down that framed poster of the rock star you love, and replace it with a crucifix? Would you switch out your rap CDs for worship music? Would you put away the autograph books you painstakingly collected and place a pristine Bible on the coffee table?

If you are putting anything, or anyone, on a pedestal higher than Jesus; if you're spending more time pursuing the works of a celebrity than you are in the Word; if you fantasise being the most powerful or revered in your field. Then I believe you are guilty of idolatry. God was very clear when He gave the Commandments to Moses in Exodus 20. His first and most important commandment is to "love the Lord your God", secondly, to have "no other gods". These gods can be anything, from posters, statues, tchotchkes, even your own thoughts and dreams. As is says in Matthew 6:21, and again in Luke 12:34, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Friend, where is your treasure?

If it's not something you'd be proud of, something you'd have no qualms about showing your Grandma, or Jesus, then does it really deserve a place in your life at all?

Is it time for the Spring Clean of your life?

Best get the dusters ready!

-Lisa