Responsibility: An Unlikely Joy

Household chores were a regular part of childhood in my family, and when done right, a small allowance was our reward. Our house was built for a young bride by her new husband in the 1920’s and still had beautiful wood floors 50 years later when we made it our home. Our kitchen sink was a large porcelain piece complete with a drying tray at one end. It must have weighed a ton! Our stove was an original Hotpoint Brand, once shiny and new, and our basement still had a coal room where trucks had once emptied the coal they delivered to heat the monstrous old furnace with huge arm-like pipes.

Every Saturday we moped the wood floors, dusted the mop boards, scrubbed the porcelain sink back to shiny white, and wiped down the old-fashioned stove, along with keeping our bedrooms tidy—closets clean and beds made.

We learned to appreciate a job well done, and to avoid the pain of having to re-clean a surface after parental inspection. We began to understand the reward of saving our small allowance until it grew to a larger amount of spending money. Saving for a coveted item brought a certain joy in itself.

Perhaps the best lesson learned from early chores was that the responsibility for taking care of what belonged to us was ours, and each family member had their part.   Taking responsibility is a godly trait, and even God takes responsibility to care for and maintain what is His—the earth and all it contains:

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.   Colossians 1:17

Work is part of God’s design for us, and it is His blessing that allows us to enjoy it. Creating and maintaining started with Him, but we get to have a part in caring for His creation. Whether our part seems big to us, or small, we have a responsibility to do our best. When we do, it brings joy to God, and to us.