Part 1: Why organize?
Organization! The very word can excite some people and strike fear and feelings of inadequacy in the hearts of others.
Being neat, orderly, and organized is natural to some people and they can't live any other way. For other people it is not an inborn trait, but something that has to be learned. Yes, it can be learned!!! I hope I can help you along on that journey today. I'm not saying everyone's home or life will or should look equally neat and orderly, but each of our homes and lives needs to have some organization.
I am one of those people who get excited by organization. Something about bringing order out of chaos is really fun to me. My 2 favorite childhood picture books were Miss Suzy and The Big Tidy Up. They are all about cleaning, and organizing. That probably sounds really weird, but it is just the way God made me. I am not perfect about organization by any means, but I do have a system for doing everything and putting away everything. I know where things are in my house, and I have a system to keep things neat, orderly and clean. I want to help you all to find organization in your home and life too. But, before we can talk about practical things, we need to know why organization is important and what our attitude needs to be.
1. Why be organized? This is a really important point for us all to know.
a. The first and main reason we need to be organized is because it reflects the nature of God. We serve a God of order. In I Corinthians 14:33, it says "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…" Why does Paul bring this up? Because the Corinthian church was having a chaotic worship service that was dishonoring to God. God wants there to be order. He has given very specific instructions about people's roles in order to bring about order in the church, and in the home, and in a nation. Each person has a specific role planned by God. What would we have without this master plan by God? Chaos!! Everything about God shows orderliness and planning. He could have made the world in one moment of confusion, but He went about it in an orderly way. On each day of creation, He made a particular type of thing. And everything He made shouts that there is a master planner who is skillful and loves order! Think about our bodies and how each cell has a job to do and does it in a very precise manner. If one cell doesn't do their precise job, disaster happens. Think about how the sun and the planets and the moon all have very precise paths of motion. If the earth was just a little closer to the sun, or a little farther away, we would either burn up or freeze. God has the distance just right. The sun and moon can be counted on to rise and set at particular times. The seasons come in a predictable manner. Then think about the plan of salvation. It's a plan. He planned it all ahead of time and brought it to pass at just the right time under the right circumstances. And that salvation could not have been achieved without the preciseness of the plan, and the precise execution of the plan.
God has called us to be like Him in the ways we can be like Him. Obviously, we are not completely sovereign over everything that happens in the little domain of our home, but nonetheless we need follow His example in what we can control. And ladies, the home IS our domain. We, by His sovereign plan, are the keepers and managers of the home. Think about the wonderful woman of Proverbs 31-the ultimate example of a godly woman who manages her home well. Do you see chaos in her home? No, everything is carefully thought out and done precisely. Proverbs 31:27 "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."
b. Secondly, we need to be organized because otherwise we cannot live a purposeful life. The definition of organize according to the dictionary is: "to arrange or form into a coherent unity or functioning whole." We are arranging our lives to be a functioning whole in order to carry out God's purposes. If we don't do this, we will be living a life reacting to the chaos and emergencies that inevitably come to those who have no organization. The disorganized person is constantly surprised and dismayed by life's events. The second law of thermodynamics contains the principle that "all natural systems degenerate when left to themselves." This includes our homes. I think this is self explanatory. We see it in action every day. We must live lives of purpose, in order to make our home prosper and not degenerate.
c. Thirdly, we need to be organized to be an example to our children. Our goal in child rearing should be to teach our children everything they need to know to be completely able to function without us, both spiritually and physically. Part of this is teaching them to be organized with their things, time, activities, schoolwork and chores. You cannot teach your child what you don't know. You have to model organization to them, as well as instruct them in it.
d. Fourthly, we need to be organized so we can get the rest we need and have time to do the important things. Some of you may be blessed with bodies that can manage on 6 hours or less of sleep a night. I am not one of those people at all! I need 8-9 hours of sleep a day. If I want to look well to the ways of my household, I need to look well to the health of myself and everyone in the home. If you are organized, you will not need to be up at 2am doing laundry and cleaning! That is totally unnecessary, destructive to your own body, and it is robbing your children of the chance to learn from you as you manage your household. If you organize your chores and your meals, you can sleep at night, have a peacefulness about you, and be able to even plan special activities to do with your family!
2. Have the right motivation
Now we know why we should be organized. But our homes can look like Martha Stewart's magazine, and we can be just as displeasing to Him as she is. It is our heart attitude and motivation that makes the management of our home pleasing to God. So often, those who have nice, organized, clean homes are tempted to be proud, and seek men's applause. That is dishonoring to God. It is also dishonoring to God to be negligent to take care of what God has given you. Remember Proverbs 31:27 "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."
Our ultimate motivation should be to glorify God. I Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether than you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Col 3:23 says "Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord, rather than for men." We are managing our houses unto the glory of God, and not for any other reason. It is not drudgery, it is an act of worship and obedience to God. Remember Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much." It may not seem like cleaning and cooking and organizing your time and your family's time is very significant, but it is in God's eyes, because it shows your faithfulness or lack of it.
3. Apply diligence
I want to encourage you not to be idle, but to fight against it. In order to be organized and purposeful, you will need to be a hard worker and be diligent. It takes labor to be organized. But this is a good thing. Charles Kingsley, an English clergyman and novelist of the 19th century said, "Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence, and strength of will, and a hundred virtues which the idle never know."
Why do we need to be diligent? Scripture commands us to be diligent in many Scriptures. Hard work is pleasing to God and commanded by God. Our society hates work. God is calling us to a different mindset. He wants us to be diligent workers to His glory.
1. Work is a mandate for everyone. In II Thess 3:6-13, work is a command here. "If anyone will not work, neither let him eat."
2. Work as if Jesus is your boss, because He is, and you will be accountable for how you work. Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." You are cleaning and cooking and training your children as unto the Lord.
3. Work knowing that God hates laziness: I would love to include several passages on this, but there isn’t space. However, if you were to do a Bible study on diligence, hard work, and the opposite, which is laziness, you would be amazed at the frequency and urgency with which God urges us not to be lazy, but to be diligent.
In my next post, I will talk about some practical aspects of organizing. But, before we get to practical aspects of organizing, I want to give you this encouragement-my mother didn't know the first thing about cooking, cleaning, being a wife, or managing her home when she got married. If she could learn how to do it and be successful at it, so can you! We just need to be diligent to pursue obedience and growth in this area, because it is God's will for us. If you don't know how to do these things, seek out women who do. I'm sure they would be glad to teach you.
Secondly, I want to encourage you to remember that God will enable you to be the best manager of your home that you can be. Go to Him for help. Take small steps towards improvement in your perspective. God is not looking for perfection, but the right attitude, and progression towards the goal of being like the Proverbs 31 woman. My favorite verse when I feel overwhelmed is Isaiah 40:31 "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint."
You can ask me questions at candice@anastasihome.com.