“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 1 Peter 2:17 (NIV)
CHALLENGE
Make hospitality a priority. Pride is especially destructive when it gets in the way of relationships.
PREPARATION
- Praise God for who He is
- Confess your sinfulness and need for cleansing
- Allow His Spirit to draw you near
- Listen as He speaks to you
REQUESTS
- God, help me to remember that people are the most important thing and that hospitality doesn’t mean having a perfect home.
- Remind me that my home does not reflect who I am as a person—having clean floors doesn’t reflect my character.
- Give me a desire to leave pride behind.
THANKSGIVING
- Thank God for hearing you.
- Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will.
OPTIONAL READINGS
- 2 John 5:5-11
QUOTATION
“We labour to make a house a home, then every time we’re expecting visitors, we rush to turn it back into a house.” – Robert Brault
LIFE STORY
For as long as I can remember, my mother has kept a tidy house. She hates the idea of waking up to a mess, so every night before bed she makes sure there are no dishes in the sink, fluffs the pillows and puts anything that is out of place away.
I have come to learn that the naturally tidy gene is not something I inherited! Tom and I regularly leave dishes in the sink overnight, laundry overflowing from our hamper and small piles of papers in odd places all over the house.
The biggest problem is that when we want to have company over, my number one priority becomes making the house look perfect. I run around shoving papers into drawers, windexing mirrors, frantically putting laundry away – all the while barking orders at Tom. On more than one occasion I have worked so hard cleaning our house from top to bottom I feel exhausted even before our company arrives! Sometimes I don’t even want to have people over because I feel tired just thinking about it.
There is a balance that needs to be found: Tom and I would both be happier if we kept our home a little bit tidier on a day to day basis, but also (and more importantly) I need to be sure to make relationships my first priority instead of having a perfect house. I once read an article that framed it this way: when you have a “perfect” home, you are sending a non-verbal message to your guests that they need to have the same. Having a warm and inviting home (like my mom) is something to be celebrated, enjoyed and shared. Being prideful about perfection is a different story.
Contributed by: Gillian Fenske