04.27.25 "Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness"

What is it about being clean and being spiritual? There is an old expression, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." This is not a Biblical expression, however the idea of cleanliness being associated with Jewish, and thus Christian, practice can be traced back to all the rituals of cleanliness and purification talked about in the Old Testament book of Leviticus.

Sir Francis Bacon (English author, philosopher, and statesman, often called the "father of modern science") in 1605 talked about cleanliness of the body as a practice that followed from reverence for God, for society and for our fellow man. John Wesley, who founded Methodism in England in the 1700s, is believed to be the first to use the phrase, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness."

Of course cleanliness means more than physically clean, there is a mental and spiritual order that we also refer to as "clean." When I was a child and was physically dirty my mother would often say, "At least it's the kind of dirt you can wash off!" I think this was some covert reference to the "dirt" on the soul because of sexual sins. She had that energy about her when she said it. ACIM doesn't refer to any kind of sexual behavior as "sinful" although there are some in our community who interpret the sexual material from the early edits that way. Not "sinful" maybe but some think it is a mistaken body identification that we need to grow beyond.

ACIM appeals to this idea of mental and perhaps spiritual purification early in the Principles of Miracles. It's Miracle Principle #7. "7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary first." (Tx.7)

The word "clean," or a derivation of it, appears 32 times in ACIM and all the different nuances of the meaning of "clean" seem to be represented. "[Vision] has something to show you – something beautiful and clean and of infinite value, full of happiness and hope." (Wk.28.5) And, "This loveliness is not a fantasy. It is the real world, bright and clean and new with everything sparkling under the open sun." (Tx.17.8) There are many others.

As I have mentioned before a good gauge of how enlightened someone is in the cleanliness of their closets.

Let's explore these clean ideas this Sunday. In the mean time, be next to God today. Be clean in every way the Holy Spirit guides you.

25 min.
SUBSCRIBE & SHARE