The Curse (31 Days to Clean Sample Chapter)

Raise your hand if…

You ever wonder why it’s so difficult to keep up with your work…to keep “on task?”

You ever feel like no matter what you do things just get messy anyway so why bother?

You feel depressed and overwhelmed at the work that just keeps piling up?

Friends, there is a reason that the laundry keeps piling up along with dishes, that the dust settles, and that work in general just seems so unproductive. Two words: The Curse

That’s right, the Curse where God pronounced judgment on our domains:

“Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have

eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from

it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the

field…” (Genesis 3:17-18)

Because of Adam’s sin (he is ultimately accountable for the fall, not Eve, because he was given responsibility for life and work in the garden before woman was created) our domains rebel against us as we have rebelled against God. Our commands to rule, subdue, and be productive are all the harder to fulfill. Everything is heading toward decay, and we are striving against it. No matter how many loads of laundry we do, there will always be dirty clothes. No matter how many times we clean the kitchen, for as long as we live it will get messy again…and we will be tired. This is all part of the Curse.

Work is not the Curse, unproductive work is.

Characteristics of the Curse (from the Five Aspects of Woman Bible Study):

• All of creation now tends toward death, decay, and disorder.

• Work is not the Curse; unproductive work is the Curse (destroys your labor).

• Pollution pictures sin.

• Evil is temporary and abnormal.

Mary Challenge: Read Romans 8:20-21. What is the hope in the Curse?

Martha Challenge: Kitchen – clean out and organize your pantry.

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To read about overcoming the Curse (Day 8), grab yourself a copy of 31 Days To Clean by clicking here – on sale for 50% off all this week – just use code: BLOOM (PDF version on sale only).

You can also purchase 31 Days to Clean for Kindle or Nook (not eligible for the 50% off).

Photo Credit: Bitten Apple on Tree