Cleanliness is Next to Godliness: A Woman After God's Heart

 Let me begin by saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is a quote believed to be coined by John Wesley in one of his sermons. This is not a scripture but cleanliness is apart of Godly living physically and spiritually. God created male and female with purpose. He predestined male to be a certain way and he predestined female to be a certain way. Whether male or female our character as a believer should always line up with God's moral code for our lives. In today's society women are devalued not only by men but by themselves. The women role models that young girls have to look up to are half dressed, untamed, have vulgar speech, drunk, etc. We very seldom see women showcased in a modest way. Young girls are taught that they don't need to cover their bodies. To cover your body is considered low confidence when it's actually respect for your body. Young girls are not taught how to be wives, in fact most females in public view promote sex, fornication, sexual liberty, gender neutrality, profanity, and rebellion. I see so many young ladies that don't know how to keep a clean home and take care of their children. They are on social media while the day is passing them by. Many women profess to have anxiety, depression and low self esteem because they are a mother or wife. The two things that are suppose to be a joyful time (for the most part) are the very stimuli to the woman's downfall. Why? Is this of God? If not, then who? In this article I will go to scripture and show you what God sees as precious in a woman. It is definitely not what the world is pushing as feminine. 

Titus 2:3-5 Godly Moral Code for Women

The 2nd book of Titus lays out how God's children should be. For the sake of this article, we will focus on the woman. Titus 2:3-5, 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. I've highlighted the attributes that a Godly woman should have according to scripture. The scripture begins with telling older women how they should be first. The scripture begins here because in the body of Christ we should be living examples for others to follow. If the older women are living in a Godly way then the young ladies have good role models to look up to. The first command is reverent in behavior (becometh). This means that your character is suitable in being God's child. This means that you have integrity, meekness, kind, loving, etc. As a age woman you should be showing fruits of God's spirit. Many aged women are following the social scene just like the young ones. In contrast, the women that are not following the trends are gossiping about the way young women are instead of teaching them. This brings me to the next command. Aged women should not be slanderers. A slanderer tarnishes a persons character usually by spreading lies about them or telling all their bad choices and mistakes. They give others a bad view of a person before they even meet them. This should not be. We should be praying for young women. Laying their problems before God and leaving it there. Older women also should not be a drinker of much wine. Wine in itself isn't bad if drunk in small amounts but access will cause you to have bad character. Also the scripture tells us that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. Older women are to teach good morals to young women, how to love their husbands and their children. Young women are to be taught how to be self controlled, pure, home makers, kind and submissive to their own husbands. When we follow God's ways his daughters won't be spoken evil of nor his Word.

Discreet (Self Controlled)/ Chaste (Pure)

On the left we have a picture of Cardi B who is a well known rapper and two women getting into an altercation on a show "The Bad Girls Club" where they pretty much just get drunk, fight and have sex with each other and men. This is what our young girls are looking at. I teach 5th grade and many of the girls try to mimic this behavior. This is what our young girls see constantly. They listen to the vulgar music with their parents and watch these shows with their parents. This should not be. We are to teach our young ladies how to be discreet. In the Strong's concordance this word means Self Controlled and of a sound mind. It means your inner outlook that regulates outward behavior. Being discreet is God's definition of being a balanced woman which mean you are being led by God and not yourself. Next we have the word chaste which means pure, uncontaminated and undefiled by sin. Chaste means you are in a condition prepared to worship God. Sin separates us from God. God isn't in the mist of unholy acts of violence, fornication, drunkards, etc. We must repent to bring ourselves back into alignment with God when we are living in this manner. Our clothes should not show our private parts. Those parts are for your husband to see. If you are a woman dressing in a sexual way that reveals your body begin to look for clothes that are nice but concealed. You will begin to get attention from different men, not just ones that want to dishonor your body. When men see half dressed women the first thought is sex. For this reason guys are not committed to you. You didn't leave anything to the imagination. You gave him all of you without getting none of him but his private parts. When a man is looking for a mate/wife, he doesn't want everyone seeing what he has. He also doesn't want a woman who is always ready to argue and fight. This turns a man off quickly. He is looking at the up keep of your home. If you have children already, he is looking at how well you raise them. Remember mean look at the outward appearance first. If those things are lacking he will never get to know your heart. 

Homemaker 

Homemaker means a keeper of the home. Women should be good at taking care of household affairs. Up top you have two pictures: a dirty house and a clean house. Which house would you rather be at. I'm sure you chose the clean one. This is the same for a man. A man doesn't want to come visit you at a dirty house (while dating) or come home to dirty house (marriage). I know for my husband he is so happy when he comes home to a clean home. He loves cleanliness. Now don't get me wrong the hubby and the kids can help out too, but you should be leading the example. I remember thinking in my early years of marriage "I'm not a maid" and the Holy Spirit told me in so many words "Yes you are". Hold on before you get upset, let's look at what a maid does. A maid cleans the house, cooks food and sometimes looks after the kids. This is the duties of the woman. When you hire maids, you hire them to do your job as the woman because you feel you don't have time. I've been married 21 years and I'm still reminded by God from time to time when I'm slipping in this area. I know I'm speaking of a husband, but remember these are traits we should have as women before we are married and after. 

Loving Your Children

  Disclaimer: Not race related, just two pictures I found. Scripture says A wise woman builds her house but a foolish one pulls it down with her own hands Proverbs 14.1.  In the picture above you see two children who are not being well kept. In contrast, the other picture shows two well kept children who are also being taught how to keep the house clean. Building a home takes wisdom from God. This is why it's so important to seek God about every decision you make. We may think something is good that will totally destroy our home. I know there are many single moms out there. I was one before I met my husband. This takes strength because you have children that can only depend on you for the most part. It is important to teach them hygiene every morning: Washing their body, brushing there teeth, putting on clean clothes and breakfast. The one thing children shouldn't live without is Structure. Remember you are raising little people who will become adults. What kind of adults are you teaching them to be. Children should not go to bed dirty. They should have a bedtime routine: Shower/bath, put on clean pajamas, make sure all toys are put away and say bedtime prayers. This is just an example of structure. You choose what structure works for you but it has to be structure. Structure is like the law in your city. People will be doing everything if we didn't have law. The law dictates how our city should run. This is the same for your home. You are the law giver and the children are the law keepers. Children will do any and everything without structure. Your house will be a war zone. Toys will be everywhere, bedrooms a disaster, food in couches, under couches, dirty clothes everywhere, etc. You get the picture. As a mom you have to put routines in place for children to follow. This is loving your children. This also takes a huge load of you. As a single mom you also have to keep the bills paid. This mean you have to work and sometimes go without for your children. They come first always. You take good care of God's children and he will take care of you mom. When you feel alone remember God is always there. 

In Conclusion, 

 God called women 

to be modest, pure, good homemakers, loving to their children and husbands, and examples for other women to follow. It is not of God for you to be depressed and over taken by anxiety. In Jesus we have peace. The world feeds us all these feminist movements that are not of God. I don't know about you but I want to be the woman God predestined me to be. I want to give my children good qualities and morals. Cleanliness is Godliness. We can see that in scripture. We should keep our homes clean. We should keep our reputations clean. We should keep ourselves clean physically and spiritually. We can only be who God called us to be by drawing near to him. Our identity lies in Christ. If we don't know God through Christ Jesus, we will never know our authentic self (true self). All these other claims of self awareness and true self courses are false. Without Christ we can never know our destiny. Begin to ask God his Will for your life. Begin to incorporate Bible reading and prayer with your children. Build your house woman of God, don't be foolish and tear it down with your bare hands. Be blessed. 

Please leave a comment if this article helped you or if you have any questions.