Today marks the 140th birthday of a gold standard in magazines. Happy Birthday to Good Housekeeping magazine, debuting in Holyoke, Massachusetts with this bold stated mission: “To produce and perpetuate perfection—or as near unto perfection as may be attained in the household.”
While typically viewed as a “woman’s” magazine when laid on the coffee table beside Field and Stream, Motor Trend, or Popular Mechanics, Good Housekeeping contains information that men should want to know. I confess, I am not a reader of the magazine, nor do I know what all the articles it might contain. Therefore, I am only endorsing it from a historical perspective.
“From its beginning until 1900, Good Housekeeping published many articles about food safety and food adulteration, including a February 1888 article about candy being contaminated with pulverized asbestos and other toxic substances. Toward the turn of the 20th century, the magazine took on a more active role in calling the government to action for food safety. In 1902, the magazine published an article by Dr. Harvey Wiley about the problems of formaldehyde in infant formula, milk, and cream. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which Good Housekeeping endorsed and supported…
“To this day, readers look to the iconic Good Housekeeping Seal as a credible endorsement of a product’s quality. A staff of chemists, biologists, nutritionists and other professionals work in the lab of the Good Housekeeping Institute at the Hearst Tower in New York City to test products ranging from cosmetics to cleaning supplies to appliances and towels. With the seal, consumers get a two-year limited warranty on a product, with a refund of up to $2,000 if a product becomes defective, with certain exclusions.”1
Obviously, guys aren’t concerned about cosmetics. However, we are concerned about appliances, cleaning supplies, and what goes into our food. Maybe men wouldn’t find every article to be riveting but we can certainly glean some valuable insights, especially when we purchase something for the house that has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval!
The Bible has much to say about our homes that encourage us to do some good housekeeping on a regular basis. 1 Timothy 5:14 gives these instructions. “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” “Guide the house” is one word in the Greek: oikodespoteō. It literally translates as house despot. The ruling management of the household is your responsibility, ladies. God has given you that great task of being a good housekeeper.
One of the qualifications of a pastor and deacon is found in 1 Timothy 3:4-5, 12. The qualification listed in these verses is that the potential pastor or deacon be “One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (5) (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)… (12) Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”
The words ruleth, rule, and ruling are the word Greek word proistēmi. The word has a broad range of meaning and duties that are to be performed. It means to set over, to be over, to superintend, preside over, to be a protector or guardian, to give aid, to care for, give attention to. To “rule” our homes doesn’t mean barking orders and demanding. Rather, we are to provide loving leadership while protecting our homes physically and emotionally. THAT is some good housekeeping!
While we’re at it, there’s some more good housekeeping we need to do. 1 Timothy 3:14-15 says, “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: (15) But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Are we behaving ourselves in the house of God? Are we treating our brothers and sisters with love, caring, and understanding?
While we may not have the fanciest house nor the extra money to afford a subscription to Good Housekeeping, we can look forward to a wonderful house in the future. 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 says, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.”
1https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-2/good-housekeeping-magazine-first-published
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
