Does Your Home Have Two Front Doors?

If you have had the pleasure to tour the neighborhoods in older cities in our country you might have noticed an oddity that you don’t see too often nowadays.   Two front doors.  If you are like me, you probably assumed that these homes must have been early duplexes but upon inspection, many of these old homes were constructed as single-family dwelling, but with two front doors. So why two entrances?

Architects and historians provide the answer.  The leading reason has to do with the social norms of the day.  Back then there was a formal and informal life within the household. In many houses of the 18th and 19th centuries, the interior was divided between a formal parlor that was kept neat and tidy for receiving guests, and the everyday living quarters of the family. Two front doors made practical sense in this context. One door opened into the formal area, serving as the primary entrance for guests and possibly for workers.  The other door opened directly into the family’s private space for everyday use by those who actually lived there. This two-door arrangement allowed a family to confine day-to-day activities to one part of the house, while leaving the formal areas largely untouched and ready to receive visitors. It also meant that guests could be shown directly into the parlor or dining room without passing through the more cluttered and possibly disorganized family areas, and without infringing upon the privacy of the entire family.  Basically, these families lived two lives!

It is funny how somethings have not changed.  We might not have two front doors, but social reasonings behind our behavior are the same and many of us still live two different lives.  We have one life we live in public and the other behind closed doors at home.   What is sad is that most all of us are aware of this, but we still take major steps to prove to the rest of the world that we are inhuman and strive for some type of perceived perfection.  Truth be known, we all struggle to be something that we are not and would be much more comfortable being able to have just one door on our home! We allow societal norms and pressures to cause us to take steps to forbid anyone to know we live in a messy house.  Honestly, most of the people I have known that have a perfectly kept house are miserable people in real life.  Most all of us are living day to day and it would be helpful if we showed more grace to those who haven’t had a chance to do laundry all week or take the trash out.
 
Here’s the challenge, God knows what is kept behind the door of your heart.  Like it or not the Scripture tells us that He knocks, but upon only one door!  Which one do you open to Him?  He’s not fooled by a fancy pallor or the spiritual cucumber sandwiches you try to serve when He comes to visit.  Why not be yourself before Him and authentic to those around you.  You will find you are much happier and content with life.  Seriously, no one really likes dainty cucumber sandwiches anyway.
 
A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. John 10:10

Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan