When I was a little girl my siblings and I had to do chores on Saturdays. We couldn’t do anything fun until our chores were done and our work passed our mother’s inspection. We cleaned on a routine basis, so when my mother said, “we’re having company”, we didn’t have to clean up, we just had to straighten up.

What’s the difference between cleaning up and straighten up? Well, when we cleaned up we had to move furniture, wipe down walls, do the windows and baseboard, vacuum the carpets and sweep the hardwoods, do the stairs and dust everything. When we were done the house smelled like Pine-sol, Spic and Span and bleach.

Straightening up was simply putting surface things back in order. No need for cleaning materials. All we were doing were putting away toys, putting books and magazines back in their proper places and making sure there was nothing on the floors.

When was the last time you had your spiritual house cleaned? Many people want to look like they follow God through Christ, but they are not willing to put in the time and effort to allow the Master Cleaner to go through their hearts and minds with His cleaning materials and clean their houses versus just straightening them up themselves so they look like a Christian.

God uses His word, fasting, prayer and meditation as His cleaning tools. In its current state, would your heart pass God’s inspection? Are you ready to be cleaned or, do you only want to be straightened up?

Romans 12:1 – 2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Just my view of things.