The Best Scouring Agent for Christmas Cleaning!

Traditionally, Christmas is a special time of year when many Jamaicans dedicate effort to refreshing and beautifying their surroundings. Growing up, my parents would clean every nook and cranny, paint the house, and get rid of old items. While cleanliness was maintained throughout the year, it seemed that during the festive Christmas season, there was an extra emphasis on beautifying the environment. My father would even cut bushes around our yard, and the government would run a “Crash Program” where men would clear grasses and small trees from the roadside, and women would sweep away the debris, giving the street “a good look”.

Even as a child, I took pride in helping my mom sweep her portion of the road and I felt proud to have contributed to the clean environment. But honestly, I wasn’t thinking too much about creating a cleaner environment; I just wanted to help my pocket with some money. My mom would always pay me for a job well done, giving me a little from her small earnings so I could buy things on Christmas day; it was always a good feeling to have money on that day. And truthfully, I don’t think any child was penniless back then. It was a special time, and every parent made sure their child could at least enjoy a cone of ice cream or the little things kids love.

Oh, we wish the streets could stay clean forever but if they did, there would be no need for the Crash Program the next year, and many families, like mine, wouldn’t have that well-needed income. Thanks to nature for taking its course, allowing wild grasses and lilies to grow again, so we could always have work during the Christmas season. And I’m not being evil here! The Bible reminds us of something important in Luke 12:27–28, where Jesus urges people not to worry. He said: “Consider how the wildflowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith!” So, like it or not, once the plants still have life, God will ensure they grow again; He nourishes and causes them to flourish – and in the same way, He will nourish and flourish us if we simply relax, stop the fretting, and trust in Him.

On Christmas Day, my mother would prepare our dinner from early, then a little later we would have our bath, get dressed in our best or new clothes, and head to the square where children gathered to buy ice cream and do other things, often showing off their new outfits; it was almost like a celebration of external beauty.

As for me, after buying a cone of ice-cream and something else, it felt as if the money disappeared within a flash.

And since I’m grown enough now, I’ll be asking mom if she had tricked me into thinking it was a lot of cash.

If I had asked her back then, before the question was finished, she probably would have given me a lash.

Hmm! So much for cleaning the environment – for removing so much trash.

Reflection:

If Christmas inspires us to look beautiful on the outside, shouldn’t we also put effort into cleansing our hearts? As a matter of fact, here is the reason we should have internal beauty:

1 Samuel 16:7 – “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Peter 3:3–4 – “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment… rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

The good news is that to obtain such beauty is free of cost. The only thing that it will cost us is our determination and belief. While we are fearfully and wonderfully made, those alone will not make us qualified to enter the glorious place God is preparing for us. In addition to being beautifully designed, humans are given free will to choose between good and evil. The place prepared by God will not entertain evil, so we must strive to do good, even when it’s difficult. We should remember that Satan opposes what God stands for, often attacking our hearts. And how do I know? Jesus says in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

The purpose of the Crash Program is to beautify the streets annually, during a specific season, but the word of the Lord is there to beautify us daily; it’s not seasonal. So, as of this Christmas day, and every day beyond, let us use the most effective scouring agent, God’s Word, to cleanse our hearts. Why? According to Psalm 24:3-4, only clean hands and pure hearts can stand before the Lord.