Imagine walking into someone’s house and being impressed with the tidiness and lack of clutter in the home. I mean, nobody likes clutter and few like to walk into a house that fails some basic standards of tidiness. In fact, there is just something about tidy and uncluttered that lends toward a sense of order and cleanliness. But, let’s be real. Alot of homes are tidy, organized, and free of clutter yet there is a looming oversight that is oft neglected by so many—DUST! Yes, that dreadful and ever-present fellow that invades our homes.
While dust is a collection of varied particles, an overwhelming amount of dust–around 2/3rds–is from outside of our homes! Dirt from shoes and/or airborne particles of pollen, soot that is often filtered through your HVAC system—dust is a daily problem that wages war against the most reticent of cleaners.
This is where I chuckle when considering how tidy so many homes appear to be. Take a quick look around and the chances are you will find out who deals with the dust and who does not!
Dust can gather everywhere. It settles on our bookshelves. It settles on our counters. It settles everywhere! For the clean-freak, it is an anathema–a bane–to the clean culture of a meticulously kept home. And, for the somewhat clean person who tidies and declutters, it is a sense of embarrasment when the oversight to wipe down the layers of dust are discovered by children of friendly visitors.
So what does dust have to do with a carnal home? Glad you asked!
A Carnal Home is a Dusty Home
Let’s face it; alot of people live for God under the guise of “how much can I allow into my life without it affecting my spiritual man.” Sure, it typically doesn’t begin that way but, over time, the enticement of entertainment, hobbies, and various pleasures eats away at the hard “spiritual” skeleton of our spiritual frame. We become more flexible. We become more willing. We become more lenient. And, in the words that have escaped the lips of so many, we embrace the ideology captured in “relax, bro, don’t be so rigid and/or legalistic. I mean, seriously, if we lived the way some people want us to live we won’t have any fun at all, right?”
Maybe the words have been slightly different, but you all get the point. That reasoning happens almost every single day and it is the reasoning of men and women who are carnal.
Now, I think it is important to clarify that carnality is not necessarily sinful. Dangerous, yes, but sinful; not always. You see, carnality is captured best by behaviors, mindsets, and activities that fail to promote and build the spiritual man. To be carnal is to be fleshly-minded. Guess what, laziness is a carnal behavior. While it may not reach the benchmark of sin, it is contrary to activities and disciplines that promote the development of the spiritual man. At the heart of laziness, is an undisciplined life and mind, and nothing is more detrimental (long-term) to the succcess of one’s spiritual walk with God than an undisciplined life and mind!
Sadly, we have invested all our time with preaching-points that address the big sins while we neglect the very things that can produce spiritual stagnation, a disruption in spiritual intimacy, and an undisciplined lifestyle. In other words, I would fathom to say that our pews have more carnal saints than we have sinful saints!
“My house is clean”, declares one!
“My house is never cluttered, I always pick it up,” declares the second.
“My house is organized, always smells good, is picked up , and is vacuumed,” declares the third.
But, is your house dusty?
This is important to understand because we often make the mistake of determining the cleanlines of a home by the lack of clutter and the overall appearance of tidiness. I love a good picked-up home that is free of clutter, dirty dishes, soiled carpets, and unwanted scents but you can’t call a dusty home a clean home.
- Dust can irritate the eyes, the nose, and throat.
- Dust can cause or promte the exacerbation of allergies
- Dust can affect lungs and overall health
- Dust is the breeding ground for dust mites!
Did you know that a home that seldom dusts can accumulate a yearly-total of around 40 pounds of dust! That is a lot of dust!
Well, guess what? This is exactly what a carnal home looks like! It may not have sinful stains on the carpet or sinful clutter that trips and opposes those who live in the home, but it does have a lot of dust!
Unbeknownst to the carnal person, the dust builds and the quality of spiritual life is diminished. Carnality is a pollutant that settles like layers of dust upon shelves, furniture, and belongings that are nicely organized in your temple that belongs to the Holy Ghost.
Ah, but we get comfortable with all the dust. It’s too hard to reach those shelves. It’s time consuming to have to daily invest the efforts to gather up new dust that quickly settles from the outside world. You have all the appearance of clean, but the dust continues to settle.
Don’t Neglect the Dust
I just purchased an air-purifier that utilizes a medical-grade filter. We have always sought to address the dust in our home but, for some reason, that dreadful “world outside of our home” seems to find its way into our home. Comforts such as air-conditioners bring a steady stream of dust every day. Summer time and dry landscapes cause dust to get tracked in on the bottom of shoes. After about a week running the purifier, I was astonished at what it collected and how the quality of air and breathability increased. In fact, while dust still fights to rest on surfaces, there is less and less dust accumulating. This makes our job easier and it helps make our home cleaner!
That being said, when is the last time you took a good look at the behaviors, habits, or activities you have been allowing in your home?
- What you watch
- What you read
- What you listen to
Sure, you may be able to argue against things being SINFUL, but are they carnal? Are you really willing to risk the dust and hope against it not having an impact on the lives of your children? Are you really willing to risk allowing the dust to settle and hope it doesn’t affect your prayer life, your sensitivity to the Spirit, and your overall spiritual disciplines?
Come on! Let’s get real! We don’t have a major sin problem, we have a major carnality problem. We have tidy pews holding dusty vessels. Would you call a dusty car a clean car? Absolutely not! Why are you content with video games that bring dust into the home? Why are you content with entertainment that brings dust into the home?
Get Rid of the Dust and Bring in Purity
(2 Pet. 3:14) 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
(Eph. 5:27) 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
(Phil. 4:8) 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.