Clean Enough

I hate it when I'm sick.  I sit in a chair all day and watch HGTV or Hallmark movies until my brain goes numb.  There is no cooking, cleaning or showering going on during these times. 

The last time I wasn't feeling well, I sat in my chair and looked at the so-so clean house and said, "It's clean enough."  As the words came out of my mouth, my heart was quickened by the Holy Spirit...clean enough.

That's an interesting concept...clean enough.  

When I was growing up my mom had a plaque on the wall that read...

My house is clean enough to be healthy

and dirty enough to be happy.

I loved that motto because it was freeing.  That particular saying set the bar pretty low, and let’s be honest...that's where we like it.  There is no effort on our part to step over a low bar unlike a high bar which requires effort and preparation.

Clean Enough may be interpreted differently by each of us.  My clean may not be your clean AND your dirty may not be my dirty.

 King David gives us some clarification in Psalm 51 when he set his bar pretty high.   You'll notice in verse seven there is no mention of "Clean Enough."

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

And in Isaiah 1:16-18 "Clean Enough" is also missing from the washing instructions.

Wash and make yourselves clean.

Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

stop doing wrong.

Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

My house may pass the “Clean Enough” test but when it comes to my spiritual life, I want that whiter than snow kinda CLEAN--not just "Clean Enough."  

How about you?