Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Before you go judging someone, or yourself, for being "dirty" - read this

Somewhere along the lines, this sentiment has gotten twisted. Now I’m the furthest thing from a Christian - however I believe in Jesus. It’s a long story - and this post is not about that.

This post is about a realization I had about this quote. I think in today’s world, there is a lot of comparison. A lot of judgement. We walk down the street and see a homeless person and avoid eye contact and move a little further - as if the “dirty” is contagious.

Then there’s a commercial for a certain white sponge that seems to be magic at cleaning away all the stubborn filth. This ad lives in my head rent free, because of the absurd claims - “It' doesn’t even look like I live here!” or “It doesn’t even look like I have kids!”

Now, it’s not absurd in the fact that I’m sure it does a great job of erasing unwanted marks and stains. However, when did it become a “sin” to have a little bit of a mess? To be alive is messy! And kids? forget it. They are the champions of chaos. That’s because they are full of life and wonder!

So before we go about erasing all the signs of the life we’ve lived, and the fact we actually live in our homes - why not ask, when did this ideal of IG perfection dominate our lives? An unmanageable status to attain? When did we have to wipe away our experiences?

When did we have to wipe away any signs of struggles, imperfections, untidiness, creativity, passions, expression? Our existence?

Ah. I think I got it. Colonialism. Whitewashing. Erasure.

Don’t make your existence invisible. Don’t fall for the rhetoric of Cleanliness is Godliness, especially in a world where people don’t feel seen. It’s the same pain, it’s the same systems of Whiteness that erase our humanness. These same systems make us believe there’s something wrong with us. We’re flawed. Born with sin. Dirty.

It’s been happening for centuries to indigenous peoples, and people of color, and their cultures, customs, art, way of life.

I’m so done with this purity culture. We are human. You are a human. We ARE born pure. It is the world of materialism that defiles our souls and infects our spirits. So when you hear cleanliness is next to godliness, I want you to think about who’s saying it and why. Is it a power play for purity? A status symbol for arbitrary, made-up rules to signal wealth and order? As if the cleanliness is somehow superior?

Of course, I’m not talking about hospitals, or kitchens, or bathrooms - which do require a level of sanitation. But our homes overall? Our fake and dead manicured green lawns? It looks just like that, sanitized. Sterile. Dead. Are we not alive?

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of things that are messy, beautiful, and very much alive:

• childbirth

• child rearing

• finger paints

• cooking

• baking

• crafting

• gardening

• eating

• self-care

• sex

• makeup

• sports

• writing

• partying

• that time of the month

Like, literally, some of these things really make life worth living. We should not have to feel like our existence needs to be invisible because sometimes it’s messy or unaesthetic.

Sometimes, those are the most beautiful parts.

Are we not allowed to sing, dance, paint, and be unattractive? Why can’t we make bad art? Why can’t we fail? Why can’t we be bad at something and still enjoy it? Why can’t we just create to create? Why can we not appreciate other peoples creations? Their Art? Their life? Why do we judge ourselves when our house is a little untidy?

It’s what’s in your heart that matters. It’s your intentions that matter. It’s how you treat yourself and others that truly matters.

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Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

What does this actually mean? Well, let’s look at the root word for cleanliness, which means to be free from filth, dirt, to be clear, and pure. It also means to be morally sound and pure, or innocent. Now let’s look at another word for cleanliness, you might know it: immaculate, like the immaculate conception.

Immaculate, as we know it in modern terms, is to be spottlessly clean. But, immaculate also means “clean from sin” or “free from moral stain”.

Having a tidy space for health and safety is wise, but the carpet stain you tried really hard to get out, but wouldn’t budge? Or that coffee stain on the wall you missed when the baby slapped it out of your hand? Or the mess of kids and dog toys in your backyard after a fun-filled day? They have nothing to do with your cleanliness or moral stains.

We need to move away from the outer waking world of the material realm and towards inner change, for then it will reflect outwardly. What is a moral stain? When you hear, see, do, or feel something is wrong and you do it anyway. When you know that what you are doing will hurt, harm, or injure others and do it anyway. When you have the power to help, to assist, to lead, to guide, and you choose to do nothing or worse, choose to harm those who are less fortunate. A moral stain is a lack of empathy. A lack of kindness, compassion, ethics, and morality.

Is your heart pure? Is your heart clean? Do you embody Truth? Do you act and behave in good faith? Is your heart and soul cleansed of impurities and mental noise? Is your inner landscape cleansed of the junk that plagues emotional steadfastness?

You can go through a car wash and come out pristine. But the moment you open the door and garbage spills out, what is the point of the “cleanliness” of the exterior when the interior is struggling and unaligned?

My point being, having a little mess doesn’t mean you’re sinful against divine law as the saying says.

It’s when your inner world projects into your outerworld, what is it projecting? Truth? Kindness? Love? Self-care? Compassion? Or is it out of balance? Does it need healing?

As the other saying goes, we all have skeletons in the closet.

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Your Home is a Reflection

Your home is a direct reflection of your inner world. A little mess here and there is no cause for concern. However, if there are daily messes, monthly messes, and other things in the way of living in healthy conditions, then there’s something more at play. Sometimes it’s mental health issues, sometimes it’s spiritual disconnection, sometimes it’s both.

Ask me how I know! I was spiritually disconnected for many years, dealing with mental health, AuDHD, and a soul sucking job, and postpartum. My home was a disaster.

It wasn’t until I literally purged EVERYTHING. I mean EVERY. DAMN. THING. That I realized, isn’t this what a lot of gurus, ascended masters, and spiritual seekers did? Give up their worldly possessions for the richness of the spirit?

A pilgrimage is what I called it. I donated, repurposed, threw away so many things and in doing so, I found my self. I found my soul.

Without all the visual noise, without all the clutter, without spending so much time, money, energy on fast fashion, fast food, fast fixes (like retail shopping) I finally had time to sit with myself. BE with myself. Find the holy heart in the center of my core.

Not preoccupied with trends, keeping up with the Jonse’s, needing to update my home for every holiday or latest seasonal color, I could just… sit. And breathe.

My outer environment began reflecting my inner calm, and vice versa. I began building a sanctuary. I no longer supported my environment and the way I lived; it supported me.

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What about Godliness

When you act “godly” or with “godliness”, you are acting in and with reverence. So if we piece all of these concepts, root words, and understandings together, what we actually get from the saying is “free from moral stain is akin to divinity” or a more modern way of speech, “your character is the key to divine spirituality.”

Isn’t this what Jesus preached? “To get to the kingdom of heaven is through me.” Isn’t that what he said? And he was born of an immaculate conception? Free from moral stain? Is that not the same thing as cleanliness is next to godliness? And he lived his life healing the sick? Feeding the hungry? Helping the poor? Sheltering the unhoused? Is that not his behavior? His morals? His ethics?

It was never really about your untidy house being unkempt sometimes when life gets rough, or you’ve run out of spoons. It was twisted to be used against you as another weapon for capitalism, misogyny, religious power, and disconnection from each other.

When we are so busy pointing fingers at ourselves or others, judging others for the very things we do, or using others' failings and faults as a way for us to elevate our standing, is that not a stain on our character?

The point of life, and the way to “heaven”, or “the place where god/spirit/universe/divine dwells”, is to bring it here to Earth, through us all. God, source, universe, spirit, can and should dwell here.

Heaven is not somewhere beyond our solar system, it’s here within our hearts, within our connections with others, with the Earth, with the soil, with the creatures of the land and sea, with you and me.

This type of healing and connection starts at home. Within our own physical homes and within our human vessels, as a home we are residing in during our time here.

It’s time to heal house and come home.

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Want more “Cleanliness is Next to Godliness”? Check out the post series I wrote a couple of weeks ago, The Manifestation Game. Which really is the game of life, who you are, who you are becoming, how you behave and act, and how you can manifest your desires and the life you truly desire. Below (before Beyond the Veil) I have provided the steps for manifestation and what it means to be aligned.

Manifestation Steps (Rules of the game)

1.) Get clear on what you want, make a choice “I’m doing this”, set a powerful intention, and affirm it.

2.) Take action by listening to your intuition, following good feelings, taking a new class or course, and mastering your craft.

3.) Release what no longer serves, let go of whatever stands in your way, and let go of the outcome.

4.) Practice appreciation, gratitude, compassion, and self-love through journaling, visualization, meditation, and shifting your focus to all the things that have gone right.

5.) Trust and believe through visualization, meditation, scripting, rituals, and following your intuition.

6.) Practice the act of receiving. Reciprocity. Understand that you are always receiving what you’ve asked for. The Universe, God, Source, Wisdom, Gaia, and/or The Creator want to amplify your inner state of being. Thus, if you practice the act of receiving, the more abundance will flow.

Alignment (The Gameboard)

Above is the link to the in-depth post about alignment.

1.) Understanding your values.

2.) Having goals, visions, dreams, and/or following your intuition toward connection.

3.) Tackling the BS belief systems.

4.) Creating new habits of the person you are becoming that has the things you desire.

5.) Having accountability for these new habits.

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