10 Good Reasons To Open Our Homes
1. Hospitality is a creative and practical way to express the love of Christ.
2. Hospitality is an expression of the warm, giving heart of God.
(Rev. 19:9)
3. Hospitality builds and strengthens community with other believers.
4. Scripture promises a reward for those who practice hospitality toward the needy. (Luke 14:12-14)
5. Hospitality is an effective way to create a hunger for Christ in the hearts of non-believers.
6. Hospitality helps us to alleviate loneliness and depression.
7. Hospitality helps us to deal with our selfishness.
8. Hospitality helps us to spurn materialism and develop eternal values.
9. Hospitality is a good way to teach children about ministry, and give them a heart for serving others.
10. God commands us to be hospitable. (Rom 12:13; 1 Pet 4:9)
The inspiration for this post comes from Revive Our Hearts.Related: "Genesis and Biblical Hospitality" and "Grace at the Table Part II: Entertaining" at Buffy's Salon.
As a culture, have we forgotten how to be hospitable?
Photos: megpi & GareandKitty (Flickr)
19 Comments:
This has always been a challenge for me! Although I love it so much when people are hospitable to me- and I want so to be that way myself- it just doesn't come naturally to me.
I do really think our culture as a whole as gotten away from being hospitable...from what I hear from those that visit other cultures, we are sorely lacking!
Have a great week, emom!
~Tammy
And it's so much cheaper and more intimate than eating out!
Yes as a culture we are so much more prone to be in our own little bubble. I have to admit I struggle with practicing hospitality. I think it stems from me thinking people won't want to come over to my house or hang out with me! I know wrong thinking! I have been trying to be better at it, but have a long way to go!
I think it depends on your "season of life". When our daughters were younger it was easier to have other couples over with similar aged children or our single friends. As they have gotten older, they have way more outside activities so our time is limited to entertain. Now that we are in a new church, we have had people over that are working with our children as a way to get to know them a bit more intimately and to encourage them in their ministry to our children. We try to keep our home open to neighbors at this season of our life as well as to the teens that are in my oldest daughter's life. We feel it is very important to teach "hospitality". Over the years I have had to learn to not be so "picky" about my house looking "perfect" and just relax and let people see us for who we really are. Books piled up and all! :)
This is a very good post!!
Great post E-mom!
I love having people in our home. We've always been ones to have "company over".
My issue is I put so much planning and work into it, I'm usually EXHAUSTED by the time our company finally arrives!
I wish I could relax a little more, but after all these years, I still stress.
But I sure love the company and enjoy the rewards after.
Grace and peace to you♥
yes! (in answer to your question) i think we have! i know i hear so much about "i can't have people over because my house isn't nice enough....or clean enough....or i can't cook very well...." etc etc.
it's not about THE STUFF. it's about the heart. and community and connecting to another.
we need this.
i need this.
i remember as a young child (my parents were pastoring at the time) my mom would have a list taped to the inside of her cupboard. it had a list of every family that went to our church.
and every sunday for lunch -- whether we had kraft dinner or hot dogs (it didn't matter) she would invite one or 2 or 3 families (we had a small humble home) over for lunch.
i don't remember the food. or the how crowded it must've been but i do remember the love and the friendships that were kindled. the encouragement we all received by linking ourselves to a bigger picture.
then, as each family came over -- she would put a little tick beside their names (on the list inside of her cupboard) so that she knew who had already come....
and after the whole list had invited to sup with us -- she started from the top again.
my mom really mentered hospitality for me. i have a long way to go to mirror her image.
xo
I think true hospitality has been forgotten. What we have instead is "show and tell" where people invite others in to show off flat screens TVs, expensive artwork, and the latest appliances.
Because of this I think some people shy away from inviting others in for fear that they won't measure up.
This was a great post and just this past weekend I was reading about this very idea in the book I'm reading.
Great reminder! And it helps to just keep a clean home at all times so you're prepared for spontaneous hospitality!
hospitable.. I don't know .. I think we've forgotten to use manners... which makes me less than want to host parties...I think of 3 past hospitality issues this month that I've had and quite honestly it makes me less than interested in inviting others over..
1. I just finished having a party this weekend for my daughters bday.. and I tell ya.. not so many know how to even do simple please and thank-yous...
2. the week before I had our youth pastor's family over.. I politely asked them if they were allergic to anything.. and was told "no, but we don't like veggies, and.. and.. and...) .. when they did show up their kids jumped on my tables (didn't eat anything..)! She didn't lift a finger to even feed her kid... (I have 4 of my own to feed as well.)
3. I cooked a special meal for international guests from my husbands work.. they showed up 2.5 hours late, didn't say sorry, thank-you, or even thank my husband for opening up our home to them (and he is their boss!)
It is very disheartening when the church doesn't even have manners.. So, yes, I haste to host parties.. or just inviting overs in general.. because lack of manners, and unappreciative...
now I don't want to sound callous.. but there was no thanks for inviting us over or anything.. and I think lack of manners makes us all seem like our work is done in futile.. not that I expect them to go on, but a simple thanks would be nice.. As a mom of 4, I am very pushy about getting my kids to learn their manners so they don't act like this to others.
While I will continue having company, it won't be for a while.. a hostile world outside the house is hard enough to deal with, never mind inviting it into our home..
(hehe, don't i sound snotty! lol i'm not really.. just tired this week and this was a hot button for me.)
so true. I hope this finds you well.
Tammy, Jan, Kim, Faith, Susan, Roo, Andrea, Jennifer, Amydeanne, & Donetta: Thanks for leaving such interesting and lengthy comments. I just lost a comment in response to your individual thoughts... oh well. :~D
None of us are Martha Stewart, but it sounds like we all do make the effort to be hospitable on some level. Hugs!
I don't think our culture has forgotten about hospitality. We're just too busy for it. Unfortunately, there's some truth in Andrea's comment about "show and tell," making us gun shy about having others in our home as well.
I am in a time of life where we are gone many nights a week and rarely invite others over for dinner, but I like to think I get my hospitality in by having an open house. People stop by unannounced and my kids' friends are there often. Occasionally I'll invite people over after church impromptu.
I think it's more important to provide an open home than to entertain.
Tami: I believe you're right: We're just too busy for it. I like your open home idea, especially when teens are involved.
Even though opening my home to Mom coming to live with us indefinitely did not happen because I personally invited her to come, I have been learning so many of these truths on your list in the last seven months.
So much to learn when we are put into places/positions that we did not see coming!
E-Mom,
Excellent post! My husband is a homegroup leader and we have had many gatherings at our home. We lead our group on a weekly basis. During this time, my children learned how to set up the hospitality and how to help us. We set aside a cupboard that we named "the hospitality cupboard" and it houses all of our nicest and best dishes and serving trays. Our homegroup now meets in another members home, but we still host gatherings when we can.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Blessings!
Karen
An excellent resource on hospitality is Edith Schaeffer's book "The Hidden Art of Homemaking". I also have enjoyed "Open Heart, Open Home" by Karen Mains and "The Hospitality Commands" by Alexander Strauch.
I think it is good to revisit books periodically to stir up the desires that can become stale or stagnant...
Connie Marie: Amen. Your Mom is one blessed woman to be living with you. Flexibility in life is certainly necessary, isn't it?
Homemanager: It sounds like you're a wonderful hostess! Thanks for the excellent resources. I love Edith Schaeffer's "The Hidden Art of Homemaking." It's a classic. :~D
We are not very good at showing hospitality compared to a lot of previous eras - and also other countries. It seems sad that it is often the more primitive cultures that are the most welcoming and hospitable. I suppose we become more alienated from everyone as we build cities and live in our own private domains. We stop trusting people we don't know.
Thank you for linking to me :)
Hi there,
I just stopped by your blog and thought that these were very helpful hints on hospitality.
Can I ask what you mean when you say hospitality?
Calum
http://practisinghospitality.com/
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