Are You Clean?

Walking outside of the city walls of Jerusalem, King Solomon happened upon a sight that left him both dismayed and all the wiser.

He described it in Proverbs 24: “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down” (vs. 30-31).

What he saw might look something like this today: An untamed front yard—grass so tall it began to look like wheat with seed pods on the tops of their stems—speckled with sprawling, prickly weeds. A house with missing shingles on its roof, pieces of siding drooping, and brown-green grime covering its doors and window shutters. A shed with rotting wood that is half demolished. Altogether, a property that looks inches away from being condemned and bulldozed.

The sight would leave you with the same conclusion as the king: Whoever owns that property is lazy, lacks understanding, or simply does not have his life put together.

Solomon was able to correctly judge the character of the landowner because the field was the most visible example of it. The king realized that if a person did not have the aptitude to manage his field—which is visible to the public and important for food and business—there was little chance he was managing the other areas of his life.

After inspecting the gnarly property, the wise king “saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction” (vs. 32).

That is King James language for, “How embarrassing and wasteful. I don’t want to end up like that.”

What about us? Everyone has their own proverbial field and vineyard—a part of their life that is readily on public display. We will be judged by how well or poorly we maintain those areas of our lives.

This is especially true for Christians. Our reputation is attached to God and His Church. Uncleanliness, disorder and disorganization in our outward appearance could stain our names in the world’s eyes.

In addition, the Bible makes clear our level of physical cleanliness can directly affect our character.

Noble Representatives

Our first imperative to maintain order in our lives is simple: God requires it of us.

II Corinthians 5:20 states that we are ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador is an official representative of a government. For us this means we represent the living Jesus Christ and God’s way of life. We reflect either positively or negatively in all that we say and do.

How we look, speak, act, dress and maintain our possessions sends a powerful message to others. They will form opinions about the Church and you as a Christian, not just based on our doctrines, but on all that they see and hear.

I Corinthians 14:40 says, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

Decently means “decorously.” Its root word means “well formed” or “noble.” Those in nobility—public figures of any kind—are almost exclusively judged by their appearance. Leaders of cities, states, nations are expected by their subjects to represent them in a good light!

These principles apply all the more to ambassadors for Christ, who have God’s name written on our doors, so to speak. We must emulate a high standard of decorum.

Beyond being a command of God, striving for cleanliness brings a host of personal benefits.

Recall in Solomon’s field-and-vineyard example, he recognized the owner as both slothful and “void of understanding.” Because this person was content with letting his field decay into ruin, he did himself a disservice. The field that he had presumably obtained to produce food was now covered in thorns and weeds, so he would have to do extra work to get what little fruit would grow.

In addition to having a reputation for being lazy, the landowner earned himself the trouble that comes with an unkempt lifestyle.

A lesson from this account: If you are overwhelmed and cannot manage something, cut back! Since the individual with the overgrown vineyard obviously could not keep up with his farming venture, it would have been better for him to avoid the business and stick to what he could manage. Before acquiring anything, be sure you will be able to put in the time and effort to maintain it.

These are not just concepts for Christians. God always wanted His people to enjoy the benefits of being tidy.

Laws of Cleanliness

When Israel was to appear before God at Mount Sinai, God told Moses “Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes…And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes” (Ex. 19:10, 14).

Before meeting God at the mountain, Israel was instructed to be as clean as possible. He wanted to prepare them for the Law He was going to deliver to them.

The Almighty intended the nation to “be a peculiar treasure…above all people…unto [God] a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6). They were to set the standard—to be a model nation to surrounding peoples, a proper example reflecting the God they served (Deut. 4:5-8).

Therefore, when He gave them His Law—contained within the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy—He filled it with detailed instructions on physical standards of cleanliness.

For starters, we all know the laws of clean and unclean meats in Leviticus 11. To be clean means “pure (in a physical, chemical, ceremonial or moral sense)” and unclean means “foul.”

These terms are used throughout the Law to refer to both physical and ceremonial cleanness. Something or someone who was deemed “unclean” was to be avoided—because it could be a vector for passing disease and make a person morally impure before God.

For example, a person who touches a creature that died by itself or by an animal attack was considered unclean until he washed himself and waited until sunset (Lev. 22:5, 8). Touching a corpse required someone to quarantine for seven days (Num. 19:11). The same went for contact with blood, bone or even the burial place of someone who recently died.

Notice the level of detail in Leviticus 13, a chapter wholly about identifying and handling skin infections. It shows how thoroughly the priests were taught to handle physical issues, and emphasized to Israelites the importance of managing their condition.

A similar level of detail applies to house cleanliness. Leviticus 14:33 through the rest of the chapter covers this topic. If the walls of a house contained a greenish or reddish mold, then they had to be scraped and re-covered with mortar and “plaister” (a protective coating of lime). If this did not work, the house was to be completely torn down and its timber and stones dumped in an “unclean place” outside of the city. Moreover, anyone who enters an unclean house is automatically unclean.

Regular maintenance, ventilation and cleaning would prevent such mold from forming.

The Levitical priesthood does not exist on Earth today, therefore we do not follow these rules exactly as ancient Israel did. However, the intent of God’s commands still applies. If we want to be healthy, spiritually pure—clean—we must be particular about the order of our lives.

In a rule regulating sanitation, God made clear the connection between physical and spiritual purity.

He said in Deuteronomy 23:12-14: “You shall have a place also without the camp, where you shall go forth abroad…for the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you; therefore shall your camp be holy: that He see no unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.” God Himself did not want to walk through a place with physical filth—and He considered a clean camp a mark of “holiness.”

In the New Testament, Christ drew the same connection when chiding the Pharisees for their focus on the outward appearance. Notice in Matthew 23: “Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (vs. 26). Removing sinful attitudes will naturally cause someone to clean up their outward appearance. The opposite can be true as well—having poor spiritual behavior might reflect itself in our physical conduct.

Stressing both physical and spiritual purity, the apostle Paul told Christians: “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1).

Finer Details

Becoming perfectly clean, even in a physical sense, does not have to be daunting. The best place to start is to think through and write down a weekly and monthly plan for maintaining every area of your life.

Start with the indoors. Your living space can be broken down into three areas: Surfaces, sanitation and stuff.

“Stuff” can be considered all the items you have that need to be organized. Do not leave any object in a place where it is acting simply as an eyesore—such as books sitting on the floor, unused dishes and silverware scattered across your kitchen, and shoes thrown about. It may be time to buy a bookshelf to store all your books, to research how to organize and stack dishes in cabinets, or to get a pad to keep shoes together in one place.

You can apply this same level of organization to your refrigerator, clothing drawers, or computer desktop. Categorizing and keeping items in their place will save you the time and trouble of having to look for them in a pinch.

Devote time each day to look over everything. What can be thrown out? What needs to be fixed? What do you not need? What needs to be used before it goes bad?

Second is sanitation. Trash should be disposed, of course. But it is not enough to simply remove the bag from the container. Leaks can leave the bottom moist, which feeds mold, mildew and foul-smelling bacteria. Scrub or soak the containers regularly.

For laundry, do not neglect to wash bedsheets, pillowcases, blankets, shower curtains—anything that comes in contact with your skin or moisture.

Also strive to keep the air in your home as pollutant-free as possible. It is good to regularly ventilate with fresh air by opening windows—even in the winter. Keep up with replacing furnace filters.

Avoid leaving containers of food open—even in the fridge. Microbes in the air and bugs will find their way into them. This is the science behind the rule in Numbers 19:15 for open containers in the tent of a person who died: “And every open vessel, which has no covering bound upon it, is unclean.”

Last is surfaces. This involves sweeping and mopping hard floors, vacuuming carpets, wiping down countertops, sink vanities, toilets and tubs, shining mirrors and windows, and dusting off and polishing wood surfaces.

Although you may relegate most of your housework to one day, the clean-as-you-go method is still crucial. Wipe down things immediately after each use. This will ensure your home is presentable at all times.

The same three areas (surfaces, sanitation and stuff) generally apply to other areas in your domain: car, workspace, yard and even dress.

With your clothing, aim to stay one step ahead of natural wear and tear. Shirt seams will fray, shoe soles will break open, and socks have the tendency to become, shall we say, porous. Having a store of new items ready to go will ensure you never end up looking like a poor man on the street.

Do not neglect personal hygiene. Daily bathing and grooming is one more way to put your best foot forward as an ambassador for Christ. Also, making sure you smell your best is a crucial way to show you care for others. Ecclesiastes 9:8 instructs: “Let your garments be always white; and let your head lack no ointment.” The Easy-to-Read Version of the Bible makes this command even clearer: “Wear nice clothes and make yourself look good.”

Through it all, it is important to stay balanced. Being a neat freak—unsatisfied until every surface has a sparkle and unable to sleep if so much as a speck of dust lands on the counter—is an extreme to avoid. Obsessing over perfection can make you lose focus on attaining spiritual purity.

The key is to think, Is there anything that would give me a reputation for being lazy or “void of understanding”?

When everything is in place, you will not only feel the peace of mind that comes with living in a clean space, you can have the confidence you are properly representing God’s standard.

After all, He ordered and established the universe with quality in mind. Just think of the description of New Jerusalem: “that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (Rev. 21:10-11).

We are working toward becoming members of His Family. As such, we will be part of His household. Strive to properly represent the God of cleanliness to the world around you—and have the confidence you will bring those standards into the future habitations He has prepared for you.