Cleaning for the Lord

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

While Rich and I were praying last night, he asked that the Lord would help us to do all things as if for Him. My first thought went to cleaning my house! If you know me at all, you know that I tend to be a bit begrudging when it comes to cleaning. The bathroom turns into a torture chamber and the pile of papers on my kitchen table turns into Mount Everest. I do like for things to be clean and am always refreshed at the end result. But when it comes to the process of cleaning, I can usually be found procrastinating by any means possible.

Now, I do clean for Rich. I just love it when he walks in the kitchen after I've shined it all up and compliments my efforts. I'm a sucker for a compliment. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to please my husband, but I need to look deeper. Is it pleasing to the Lord when my house is clean and organized? Yes! He has placed me as the keeper of my home, so of course it pleases Him when I do this job well. If I can keep that in mind as I go about my work, it gives me a new sense of inspiration. Inspired while doing housework? Well, yeah, I guess that's the best way to describe it. It's a blessing not to trudge through those chores, but to be able to do it with a joyful and willing heart. So that's my prayer, that I would be joyful in the work that I do for the Lord!