Time To Clean

This past week I have been busy cleaning out clutter in my office. I did not realize that I had accumulated so much stuff, things that I really should have gotten rid of a long time ago. You know how it is; we desperately need to clean out, but put it off as long as we can. Since it is a new year, I decided to tackle the problem head on, without stopping until I got the job done. I had vowed that I would not procrastinate any longer. And you know what? It felt pretty good seeing my extra “clutter piles” slowly going away. . . it has actually been very therapeutic!

It is always good to take inventory of our homes, to clean up and clean out. But have you ever done a spiritual inventory? Have you ever asked the Lord if you need to “clean up” certain aspects of your life? Do you have “clutter” in your spirit that keeps you from drawing closer to God? “Clutter” in our spirits can show up in these very obvious places: our speech, our attitudes, and our actions.

Our Speech: Many times our words can get us into a whole lot of trouble. If we are not careful, a careless word spoken in haste, an unkind remark , or a destructive comment about another can have very damaging effects. Do we always think before we speak. Not always! James 1:19 tells us to be slow to speak. . . this verse has kept my mouth out of a lot of trouble!

Our Attitudes: A bad attitude can be seen in us when we are ungrateful, selfish, covetous, unkind, lazy, bitter, and in many more “not so pleasant” ways. All it takes is just looking at the life of Christ, and all that He endured on our behalf, to bring us to the realization that we need to get our attitudes in check. The wonderful passage on the humility and sacrifice of our Savior in Philippians 2:5-11 can give us a good wake-up call about our sometimes fleshy attitude, because it teaches that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

Our Actions: Did you know that the way we act says a lot about what we believe or what influences us? Are our actions showing others that we truly belong to Christ or do they say we are being enticed by the world? When you think about it, where we go, what we watch, what we listen to, who we hang out with, all of these can be indicators of what we allow to shape our lives. Our actions should reflect that we are “. . doers of the word, not merely hearers. . .” . James 1:22

I could have expounded on each of these areas in greater detail, but for now, these are just some things to think about as we enter into a new year, a new beginning filled with hope and promise. So as we clean out the physical clutter in our homes, let us clean up the spiritual clutter in our hearts. Ladies, let’s not forget that when we belong to Christ, our bodies are temples of His Spirit, so let ’s make sure He resides in a clutter-free house!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17