Hospitality

We are talking about hospitality as a spiritual discipline tomorrow night at small group. I read somewhere that the excuse most people give for not practicing hospitality is that they do not want to clean house. Wonder if that is true?

Then I got to thinking about the things I disliked about cleaning house. I am a neat freak who believes in keeping things picked up so that the task is not so daunting at the end of the week. There are, however, things I dislike about "cleaning house." My most dreaded task is changing linens and making the beds. I guess Sam spoiled me in the years of our marriage--I didn't have to make up the bed one time. Sam, one of the classic night owls, was always the last in bed and the last one up, and he made up the bed every day.

I used to tell my English students that learning grammar was a lot like cleaning the bathtub--nobody likes to do it, but it is necessary. Personally, I always take a shower, so that the chore of cleaning the bathtub is not frequent.

Come think of it, the satisfaction of having a clean, wonderful smelling house with everything shining far outweighs any disadvantages of cleaning. Just as the joys of hospitality far outweigh the tasks necessary to get ready.