Articles and Poetry by Our Members
| Praising God ‘Midst Soapy Suds |
| Author: Laura Wingerd Entered on: 2/2/2007 |
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| I read a poem recently that got me thinking. It went like this: Thank God for dirty dishes; they have a tale to tell. While others may go hungry, we’re eating very well. With home and health and happiness we shouldn’t need to fuss, For by this stack of evidence, God’s very good to us. So praise Him with thanksgiving, with joy scrub every one, And thank God for His blessings ‘til the dishes are all done. Anonymous This is a convicting poem! How often do I stop and express my gratitude for dirty dishes? How often do I even stop to praise God for his provision of my daily needs? Not nearly often enough. The fact is, God is good. He has not only given us the bare necessities, but He has blessed us with so much more. And we don’t deserve any of it. Yet how many times have we learned to expect these things as though we do deserve them? This attitude shows the lack of gratitude we have for what we have been given. We should not just remember these things only on days like Thanksgiving. God has graciously bestowed many good things upon us, and when we do not acknowledge that, or when we attribute these blessings to different sources, we withhold the glory which God rightly deserves. We have a vast treasury of blessings which God delights in giving to us. Shouldn’t we have an attitude that acknowledges that? Shouldn’t the giver of all be glorified in His giving? If we were to realize just how much we have been given, I think that we would change the way we view a lot of things. Thinking again about dishes, if we were to remember that God has provided each dish for our use, we would (or at least should) be more thankful people. And if we were to remember all the food that’s been eaten off of those dishes, we would be more thankful. Even further, we could think of grocery stores perhaps, and that could lead to the thought of transportation, and then to the thought of the gasoline we’ve used, and the money we have to buy it, and the job we have, and so on. If we had to remember each and every thing we’ve been given, we wouldn’t have time for doing anything else. And God is still providing, so our list is always growing! This could definitely be an overwhelming task! So how do we keep up with it? Well, we don’t, at least not in the sense of continually remembering every detail. But we should have a continual attitude of praise. If we have this attitude our lives will become lives of praise and joy. Charles Spurgeon once said, The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! The “divine service” is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden candlesticks. I admit, my attitude is often ungrateful and complaining. The thought of filling up a soapy sink, and then standing there just scrubbing, rinsing, stacking, and drying, can make me weary. Weariness is okay. The Bible doesn’t say that we won’t grow weary when we work. But my attitude is often, “Dishes again?” And so I do it, but grudgingly, thinking about other things I’d rather be doing. Wouldn’t it be better to be joyful while doing the dishes? Imagine as I come bounding into the kitchen. I look at the pile of dirty dishes, raise my hands with joy, and start singing praises to God. Then I glide over to the sink, happily raise the handle, and watch in satisfaction as the water pours out, making warm soapy suds. Once the sink is full, I pick up a cup and begin to scrub, all the while praising God for the cup. “I thank You, Father, for this cup with which You have blessed me, and I thank You for its usefulness in dispensing a drink that has blessed my body with liquid to hydrate me and give me nourishment.” I immerse the cup in the rinse water and turn to the next dish, repeating the thanksgiving with each dish until I am done. Then, still singing, I wipe the counters and joyfully dance out of the kitchen. OK, so maybe it’s a little extreme to imagine anyone acting that way. But hopefully you would be convicted by my example to praise God yourself. When we praise God in the little things, we are witnesses to those around us. I think also that learning to praise God for His goodness trains us to worship Him when He sends difficult trials into our lives. Our purpose is to glorify God. We must learn to praise Him for all things, for that is what glorifies Him. Learning to acknowledge God as the source of all good is definitely something to work hard at. I would encourage you and challenge you, the next time you must do something unpleasant (even if it is just washing the dishes) to put on a smile, and meditate on the goodness of God. Strive to have an attitude of praise in all your work. It will make you a much more grateful (and therefore, joyful) person, and it will glorify God, who is our abundant Provider. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24 |
