Living Beyond Sunday – Clutter Series– Is Your Clutter Keeping You From Experiencing God?
(The Proof)
Clutter: you know where it is. Each of us has some clutter. It could be the kitchen junk drawer, or the piles on your table, the mess in your closet or the garage that you can barely walk through. You may have seen a TV show about “Hoarders”. In this extreme, people just can’t let go of their stuff and it clutters their homes until they can barely move. We may not make it to a reality TV show, but we all have experience with clutter.
Have you observed any of these situations?
The more stuff we have, the less we tend to appreciate it.
Instead of managing our clutter, we expand our storage.
Clutter occupies a place in our minds. When asked about a mess – most will respond “I have been thinking about cleaning that up and organizing it”
People purchase a duplicate item (more stuff) rather than organize and find the item they already own.
When people clean out and de-clutter they universally experience relief and peace inside and out.
So how does all this impact our relationship with God and our ability to Experience God in a rich and deeply satisfying fashion? Most of us are fairly simple people. We have only so much “Top of Mind” space. Don’t you think that when we are distracted by clutter in our homes, our work, our cars it translates into clutter in our minds? All of the stuff floating around in our heads needs to be organized and prioritized. We will read our bible once the garage is cleaned. We think we will spend more time praying when we are done spring cleaning. Etc. etc.
Mark 10:17-27 tells the story of a “Rich Young Ruler”.
Jesus had a conversation with this young man because he was asking how he could have Eternal Life. Jesus reminded him of some of the commandments “You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”.
I noticed that Jesus left off the Commandments “ Have no other gods and make not an idol”. Jesus already knew that the young man was struggling with his stuff. It had become a god in his life, and therefore a stumbling block. How do I know? Jesus said this:
“One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
This guy’s clutter had become a distraction in his relationship with God and Jesus called him out on it.
Do you have so much stuff that it has become a distraction to you?
Does any of your stuff “own” you?
Does your clutter, your riches, your position keep you from truly experiencing God?
Why did Jesus Ask the Rich Young Ruler to sell it all and then come follow Him?
If Jesus were face to face with you right now, would He ask you to do the same thing?
Proverbs 23:4New Living Translation (NLT)
4 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.
Be wise enough to know when to quit.
Next week: How decluttering will loosen up mind time to focus on what is really important. A deep relationship with God.
About the Author, Jim Brangenberg
Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!