Allow me to channel my inner Michael Scott and declare that “organization is next to godliness.” If you’re not familiar, in the hit show The Office, Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, makes this proclamation at the hospital bedside of one of his employees. He tells her that “forgiveness is next to godliness” in an attempt to encourage her to forgive him for an accident that had sent her to the hospital. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen this episode—or the show itself. It’s an iconic American sitcom that has had a lasting impact on American pop culture since its debut.
The idea behind Michael Scott’s statement is that by invoking something biblical, or at least making it sound that way, we give the idea a level of authority that it might not otherwise possess. Of course, Scott’s declaration is not literally found in the biblical text, nor is mine. In my case, the argument is straightforward: organization is, in many ways, the language of God.
A Biblical Starting Point
What do I mean by this? Let’s go back to the beginning—specifically, Genesis 1:1-2, which states:
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Water represented chaos in many ancient cultures, including the one that produced the Hebrew Bible. This belief stemmed from the understanding that water is formless, dangerous, unordered, and unorganized. Thus, it symbolized the state of the world—or creation—before the deity intervened. This deity is God, the creator, who steps in and brings order through His “word” (language).
Later in Genesis 1, we see how God separates the waters, placing them above and below a “dome” and allowing land to appear. Here, land and the separation of the waters represent organization. By the power of His word, God speaks order into the chaos of the primordial world. Only then does the order/organization begin to take shape, making God’s creation “good.”
The Spiritual Meaning of Order
Often, it’s easy to fall into the misconception that being “godly” or “spiritual” requires us to engage in mystical activities or lead an ascetic lifestyle. However, if we learn anything from the book of Genesis, it’s that organization itself reflects God’s will here on earth. It serves as a glimpse of heaven, much like the line in the Lord’s Prayer that asks for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. God’s will is to bring order out of chaos. This can apply to someone whose life is overwhelmed by turmoil, a family on the verge of collapse, or even the need to be organized in personal spaces.
Being organized is, in fact, an expression of being godly. Your home, workspace, digital life on devices like iPhones or iPads, thoughts, schedule, and habits should all strive for organization. This doesn’t imply perfection or a lack of humanity. It simply means that whenever you can bring order to something, no matter how small, you are fulfilling God’s will in a meaningful way.
Faith in the Details
As followers of the Christian faith, particularly in the West and even more so in America, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that being godly means engaging in grand, showy actions that make us appear righteous on the outside. These might include singing in church, dressing up for services, praying out loud, praying in unknown tongues, or evangelizing, among other activities.
I want to remind you that you can express your faith through the little things in life. The challenge I present today is identifying an area in your life that is out of order or in chaos and taking steps to address it. Speak order into that situation, just as God did in Genesis chapter 1, and strive to create something “good” from it.
This could be anything—a cluttered desk at home, a disorganized garage, a messy bedroom, a car, a tool chest, a library, or even the Notes app on your digital device. There is so much chaos in the world that needs to be put in order, and any small step you take to create a more organized environment will be part of doing God’s will.
