It’s been two months since we moved into our new home. While many things are in their proper place, plenty of boxes remain unpacked, and many of our belongings still need a space. Our home is functional, but we are still working around the clutter of boxes and displaced things. Every day brings improvement, however, we will be glad to be completely settled.
Clutter is expected at times, yet it is challenging to our senses and our functionality. Many people claim that it is a sign of creativity and boosts the creative spirit. I do not know how true that idea is, but practically, clutter is a distraction that inhibits our effectiveness. Time spent hunting through the mess to find what we need is wasted. Homeless items can be significant obstacles, and numerous studies reveal that our clutter is a cause for anxiety.
Spiritual clutter is no less significant and distracting. When our spirits are messy, we wrestle to find deep, inner peace. We were not designed to function with such spiritual distractions and we can find difficulty maintaining our sense of centeredness and we impede our growth in faith. As we allow spiritual clutter to accumulate, we invite further difficulties into our faith journey, we lose momentum in spiritual development, and we can easily become discouraged. We need to take time to clean our the clutter in order to have a more dynamic relationship with God.
So, what is this spiritual clutter and how do we get rid of it? While there is no way to create a comprehensive list, there are some common culprits and the methods used to address them reveal ways to deal with other areas as they arise.
Sin – Sin is not a popular word in our modern vocabulary. It sounds condemning, and we prefer to avoid discussing it. Jesus, however, thought it was significant and worthy of our attention. Sin inhibits our relationship with God. When we choose actions that strain our relationship with God, we create unnecessary obstacles to our faith walk, and we hamper our spiritual life. Thankfully, God does not want us to live in our brokenness, but provides us with a way out through the gift of Jesus Christ. Sin does not have to have authority over us. The Bible tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ (1 John 1:9) The solution is as simple as honestly confessing our sin and receiving God’s forgiveness in Jesus.
Self-condemnation – Too often we replay the tapes in our minds that tell us we are not enough. We rehearse our failures and reflect on the voices that speak poorly about us. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies. We accept the lies that we are unlovable, too flawed, even rejected by God, but that is not how God sees us. We are created in the image of God and made perfect through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are deeply loved and desired by God. We may not be perfect, but we are on the path to perfection, and we are worthy because God says so.
Guilt – It is easy to believe that our past failures prevent us from experiencing God’s goodness. The good news is that God does not consult our past to determine our future. Rather, God declares our future in spite of our past. It is never about our ability to measure up. It is always about abiding in Christ and being found in him. Our past is just that, past. Here, in the present, we are new creatures in Christ. The old is gone. The new is come. Carrying our faults and failures is too great of a weight for our shoulders. We cast those things on Christ and walk in the freedom he gives us.
Spiritual Busyness – “If only I was doing more,” we tell ourselves, “then I would be the right kind of Christian.” It is certainly good to challenge ourselves to grow, and to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but it is not good to judge ourselves by what others do, or by an expectation God did not set for us. Perfect Sunday attendance, participation in every church event, and religious activity are not the litmus test of our faith, neither is how much of the Bible we read or memorize, how long we pray, or how many devotionals we read. We can fill our schedules with a myriad of religious activities and grow no closer to God, while making ourselves less available to what God is actually calling us to do. We need to be wise in the stewardship of our time, dedicating enough to have the resources to grow and serve, while leaving room for our relationship with Jesus. We do not need to prove our faith, we need to live it.
Imagine what would happen in our lives if we removed these, and other, obstacles so the fruit of the Spirit could grow freely in us. Imagine what would happen in the world around us. We were meant to experience the wonder and blessing of a life with Christ, a life filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Not only is this possible, it is God’s perfect design for our lives.
So, as we embrace this new day, let’s remove the spiritual clutter to make room for the Spirit’s presence. Together, we can let go of the things that choke the life out of our faith, and we can take hold of the blessings God has for us. As the clutter clears, we will find greater freedom, greater clarity, and a greater life. Cleaning is never easy, but when we are done, it is worth it. So, let’s take the first steps today.
“. . . you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing” (Luke 10:41-42). Distractions, I agree, are the bane of our existence, at least of mine. It’s a theme to which I return time after time in my preaching and teaching (most recently last month, https://saunteringpilgrim.com/2018/08/12/on-listening-to-your-heart/). It has become a mantra of mine that often I need to say “no” to many very good things in order to say “yes” to the fewer best things or to the one thing necessary. So does everyone, in my opinion. But there’s the curious thought of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget which accompanies a photograph of him in his study, surrounded by stunning and (apparently) disorganized piles of folders, papers, books, and odd miscellany that threaten his death and destruction by avalanche at any moment: “As you know, Bergson pointed out that there is no such thing as disorder but rather two sorts of order, geometric and living.” The living order of nature is exuberantly, extravagantly fecund. It’s fecund to the point of seeming chaotic, but it seems to be God’s way of creation as much as is the geometric way. Consider the explosive biodiversity in a mature meadow, for example, or a healthy ocean. So I wonder if there’s room, even a necessary role, in one’s spiritual life for what appear to be distractions but may be something else that I haven’t yet figured out.
Interesting and engaging response Rich. I am currently revising part two for Thursday. I suspect I will have a more complete response in that post. For now, I believe there is room for distractions with purpose, even if I cannot yet see what that purpose is. However, I would say that some forms of clutter are destructive, or at least, restrictive. These are ultimately more than mere distractions, but obstacles to forward momentum. I suppose the challenge is in the discernment.