“CLUTTER”
Have you ever seen the shows about people that are extreme hoarders? Many of them have soooo much stuff in and around their homes that they have to climb over stuff just to get to their destination. Their rooms are full of “blessings” that have overtaken their lives both literally and emotionally. It’s crazy!
Most people aren’t that extreme but we have our own forms of disorder. Have you ever done a self evaluation to examine if you have too much clutter in your life? Sometimes it’s literally stuff and sometimes it’s not tangible like multiple obligations and responsibilities.
Stuff – Sometimes we acquire things over the years that we’re not willing to let go of. We’re constantly bringing home new things. People keep building bigger houses, garages and some people even have storage units for all of their stuff. I challenge you to ask yourself if you’re being a good steward of the “stuff” you think God has blessed you with. Sometimes that same stuff can be a curse instead of a blessing. Stuff requires maintenance time (cleaning, fixing, moving…etc), additional space to store it and financing the items (purchasing, maintaining, housing…etc) and many of these physical items become liabilities instead of assets. Whatever it is that is causing you unnecessary stress, give it away, throw it away, sell it, bury it….or whatever sets you free from bondage.
Time – Some of us take commitments to the extreme and fill every waking moment with obligations. These obligations vary between fun and responsible but they are still time consuming. Are you being a good steward of your time? Are you finding a balance between responsibilities and enjoying life? Many people lean towards one extreme or the other and very few find that perfect balance. I challenge you to prioritize and clean out the clutter of busyness. Sometimes we do things just because that’s what we think we’re supposed to do. Examine your obligations and figure out what you are doing that is taking up unnecessary time and what you are missing out on that you would like to factor in. Is your schedule fruitful? An occasional review of your schedule will eliminate or at least reduce the chance of you looking back years later and saying “I wish I would have…” Carpe diem!
Someone once told me that “the clutter in your life represents the clutter in your heart.” So many things get in the way of our main priority of growing closer to Jesus. Many people say they don’t have time to read their Bible or to invest more into a relationship with Jesus. Many people are too busy to exercise and take care of the vessel that God has entrusted them with to carry out His plan and you can’t be very effective if you’re unhealthy. Many people don’t have time to be responsible because they are too busy goofing off. Many people don’t have time to goof off because they are too busy being responsible. Many people don’t have time or money to any of those things because they are catering to and paying for the stuff they have acquired.
What kind of clutter is holding you back from living life to the fullest? Identify it and refresh accordingly!