37 Holy Housekeeping 2 - Leave Your Shoes at the Door

Holy Housekeeping 2 - Leave Your Shoes at the Door

Do you not know that your body is a house of God where the Holy Spirit lives? God gave you His Holy Spirit. Now you belong to God. You do not belong to yourselves. God bought you with a great price. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him. -- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLV

According to a University of Arizona study, after two weeks, a new pair of shoes has collected 421,000 units of bacteria on the bottoms. The bacteria includes E. coli and other organisms that can cause meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and a number of other maladies. For this reason, in many parts of the world, it is standard practice to leave shoes at the door.

As we “walk” through the day, each of us tracks into our hearts a multitude of impurities that will negatively impact us mentally, physically, and spiritually. Through the people we encounter, and all that we see, hear, and experience, both intentionally and inadvertently, we carry in contaminants that will corrupt us in body, soul, and mind.  

How do we prevent our bodies and minds from being infected? The Lord gave us the answer. "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23 NIV). How exactly do we guard our hearts?  Paul explains, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" (Philippians 4:8 NIV).  We ought to fill our minds with pure thoughts, leaving bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and worry at the door.