What Have They Seen in Your House?

Isaiah 39:4 – “Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them”

You can learn more about people by one visit in their home than by a thousand other contacts. It is in the home that we are likely to let our hair down and quit acting and pretending. Pastors should never feel like they really know their members until they have been in their house. Just casual observances will reveal many things: whether the lady was neat or sloppy, wasteful or frugal, and whether she and her husband had tastes that were artistic or drab. You can also tell if they were musical or literary, and whether they were interested in sports and outdoor life. All this knowledge could easily be gained by studying the furnishings, books, ornaments, pictures, and trophies.

Isaiah asked King Hezekiah, “What did the king of Babylon see in your house?” (See Isaiah 39:4) I would ask a similar question: “What do others observe when they visit your house? The home is likely to reveal the heart, especially in regard to the things of the Lord. Just a brief visit will give one an idea of a person’s spiritual temperature.

Would a stranger know by looking around that yours is a Christian home? Remember, the pictures and mottoes on the walls will reflect the true atmosphere, and so will the music on your piano! What about the literature you read? Is it all popular magazines and non-Christian fiction or is it mostly spiritual material? How prominent a place does the Bible hold? Are there any devotional booklets around? We would ask again the question expressed long ago by the prophet Isaiah, “What have they seen in your house?