The Back Door Mat

Growing up I was always a backyard kid. You would find me kicking a ball in the backyard instead of in front of the TV playing Super Mario Brothers.

Being a kid who loved to play outside I soon found out that there was a mat at the back door for a reason. I was told time and again to make sure I use the mat to scrub the dirt off my shoes before entering the house.

The mat at the back door always had a few pairs of shoes which were too dirty to be cleaned. No-one dared to walk through the house with any type of loose dirt on their feet.

The reason for the mat was to make sure that the dirt from the outside didn’t pollute the inside of the house, simple as that. Now every time I enter any type of building I always make sure I wipe my feet on the mat.

Most of us have physical mats for our homes, but very few of us have spiritual mats for our mind, body and soul.

So often our lives get plain filthy from playing out in this world. We were not created to stay inside all the time (for us Christians that means we weren’t created to stay inside the church all the time!). However, there comes a time when we are to transition from outside to in and we must make sure we don’t bring the loose dirt with us.

I have developed a system in my own life which I like to call my spiritual mat. This helps to make sure I’m not a loose dirt carrier. The system is very simple. It comprises of three parts.

For the body, I have the mat of workout! Let’s be honest most of us allow loose dirt to filter our bodies through junk food and laziness. For me an intentional effort to workout wipes me clean.

For the mind I read and I dream. I read books that will not only stimulate my mind but will help me think purely about ourselves above myself and to help me develop into someone I am not yet. I also dream I what God desires me to become.

The final mat is the one for the soul. This is the most important yet one so many forget about. For the soul there is only one mat that I have found will wipe off the loose dirt. That is to daily make the choice to worship my God. I do this through a one chapter of the bible a day bible study (I take one chapter and just explore what it is truly saying) and I also worship through having a daily conversation with my savior where I tell him how much he means to me and how much I appreciate him.

When I use these three mats I find my life is so much cleaner and I rarely have to go back and sweep the places I have already trodden. If I don’t use these mats, let’s just say there’s a lot of cleaning that has to take place, and I HATE cleaning!