How to wash up to the glory of God (plus washing up tips)

One of the things I’m passionate about is connecting theology with everyday life. (Hence my book on busyness.)  I was recently involved in a conversation in we discussed together a Christian approach to washing up. I know, my life is one, long whirl of excitement. But seriously, I often enjoy washing up. Why is that?

When a legalist does the washing up

How do you know a legalist has done the washing up? They wash up most of the cutlery and crockery, but they leave the pans ‘to soak’ and they don’t wipe down the surfaces.

Why is this? Because they are not doing it out of a love for God and others. They’re doing it because they feel they ought to or because they want to be seen to be doing it. So there’s no intrinsic joy in it. As a result they do just enough to be able to say they’ve done the washing up. Most of the washing up is down, but the kitchen is not left clean.

Finding joy in washing up

So how do we find joy in washing up?

First, we can enjoy the opportunity to serve others. If we’ve left the washing up from the night before (though see #2 of my washing up tips below) I love washing up in the morning while my wife’s still in bed. I love the thought of her coming down thinking of the work that needs doing to find the kitchen all clean!

Second, we can share the joy of the Creator as we bring order from chaos. God’s first creative act brought order from  chaos (Genesis 1:1-2). And that first creative act is prototypical for all creative acts. Being made in the image of Creator to care for his creation means we are made to share his joy in order and beauty. We sweep a yard and then lean on the broom handle admiring what we’ve done. That is a profound act. We are expressing our true humanity and sharing in God’s joy at creation. It’s the same with washing up. The dirty washing up becomes a pile of clean crockery. The cluttered kitchen becomes new again.

Idolatry and washing up

Washing up can go wrong in two ways. The first, as we’ve seen, is when washing up expresses our desire to be our own saviour (legalism). The second is when washing up expresses our desire to be our own lord. Our kitchen becomes our domain. And so we enforce perfection. We shoo others out of ‘our’ kitchen. ‘It’ll be easier if I do it myself.’ ‘You wouldn’t do it right.’ We get annoyed when people put things away in the wrong place. Think about the word ‘wrong’ in the phrase ‘the wrong place’. Who determines right and wrong in this situation? Not the living God.

Your kitchen sink is a holy place – a theatre for God’s glory

One final thought. The prophecy of Zechariah ends with these words.

On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: HOLY TO THE LORD. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the LORD will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar. In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices. And on that day there will no longer be traders in the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Zechariah 14:20-21)

Under the old covenant holiness was tied to rituals and places. The temple was holy. To enter one had to be ritual clean. But now everywhere and everything is holy. In Zechariah’s vision the pots of the temple are holy, but so are all cooking pots. Your kitchen sink is a holy place – it can be a theatre for God’s glory.

Top tips for good washing up

Washing up is not a job for girls. It takes a man to do a good job of washing up. Of course, I don’t really mean that. I just want blokes to realise good washing up is not straight-forward. It’s a skilled job. I know this because so many people do it badly. We have a lot of people in and out of our home so I’ve seen a lot of people doing washing up. Most of our lodgers have needed a bit of training! Men who take pride in their ability to drive need to learn to take the same sort of ‘manly’ pride in washing up well – and serving their wives in the process. So here are my top tips for good washing up. It’s all free! I was going to give you ten top tips, but it kind of got out of hand. It’s a big topic!

1. If you leave anything to wash up later, first give it a quick rinse. That prevents dirt hardening on things. Leave a quarter inch of water in the bottom of cups – it prevents tea and coffee stains forming.

2. Wash up soon after the meal before the dirt has had time to dry on the plates. Ideally the cook should wash up as they go along. I start co0king by filling a washing up bowl with piping hot, soapy water so I can quickly wash up as I finish with utensils.

3. Always use water as hot as you can bear it. Preferably slightly hotter. So hot you can’t keep your hands in the water for any length of time.

4. It takes experience to get the amount of washing up liquid right (especially since liquids vary in intensity). But people often put too much in which leaves everything too soapy.

5. While the water is running in (or getting hot enough to run in), rinse off everything you can. Put plates under the running water at an angle to the dirt runs straight off down the plug hole (not into your washing up bowl). Give them a quick rub over with a brush or your hands. Swill out dirty cups and leave a small amount of water in the bottom to soak any stains. Cover the bottom of pans with water so they can be soaking.

6. Put in all the cutlery straight away to soak. But, please, don’t put in any sharp knives otherwise you’ll be washing up with blood.

7. The general order for washing up is to wash things that have most contact with your mouth first. Glasses first. Not only do they have direct contact with your mouth, but they show greasy stains easily so wash them while the water is still clean. I generally then do plates.  Then cutlery. (I know cutlery goes in your mouth, but I like to give it a bit more soaking time.) Then everything else.

8. Wash cutlery by scooping a handful from the bowl (where they have previously been soaking). And then pass them from one hand to the next, wiping them over and inspecting for any stuck on dirt. Then give the handful a quick rinse under the tap.

9. With a big load of washing up you will need to replace the water at some point. Pour most of it away, but leave a little in the bowl so you can give the bowl a quick rub round with a brush and then a quick rinse. And you’re ready to start again.

10. Always inspect what you’ve washed – both visually and with your hand.

11. Generally you should rinse what you’ve washed to remove the dirty washing up water. Hold glasses at an angle and place the upmost outer point under the tap so the water runs around the outside. Then tip the glass so the water runs on the inside. It’s a quick one second movement that rinses off most of the dirty water. Don’t leave the tap running – that’s a waste.

12. I use a brush, a cloth and a scourer. I use the brush for dirty items (pans that have had baked beans – that sort of thing). I use the cloth (we often use old clothes cut up) for the bulk of the washing up. And I use the green scourer for those ‘hard to remove stains’.

13. Oven trays usually need extra washing up liquid and extra hot water. Run the water so it’s really hot and squirt some washing up liquid direct into the tray. Add some water and clean round with a brush. Then run the brush (which will be wet with with hot, soapy water) over the back to get rid of any grease. Finally rinse under the tap.

14. Don’t do any drying up. Yes, really. Drying up is a waste of time. Leave the washing up on the draining board and it will be dry soon enough (especially if you’ve had the water really hot). Plus tea towels spread germs. They are warm and damp – a paradise for germs. So only do drying up if you’re going to run out of room on the draining board.

Have I missed anything?

The evils of dish washers

I can’t miss this opportunity to have  quick rant against dish washers. We don’t have a dish washer. I think they’re evil. Okay, so there’s an element of hyperbole in that. But here’s what’s wrong with them …

1. Despite what all the adverts claim, they don’t wash as well. They mist over glasses and leave a soapy taste on things. We can all tell crockery, mugs and glasses that have been routinely washed in a dish washer.

2. They remove a great opportunity to train your children to serve. Doing the washing up is lesson 101 in serving others.

3. They remove a great opportunity for pastoral care. One person washing while another is drying is a great context for pastoral chats. It’s one-on-one. But you’re doing a task together so it’s not too intense. ‘How are you doing?’ ‘How’s your walk with God?’ Great questions to ask while your filling the washing up bowl. Or how about, ‘You know you wash up like a legalist’!

4. Dish washers guzzle electricity. Not as bad a tumble dryers (another evil and mostly unnecessary household appliance). So reduce global warming – and keep your hands beautiful and soft for free!