Many of us have been through the process of cleaning out the old closet. Yesterday my husband was looking for a particular shirt to wear to the gym, and he didn’t find it in his drawer so he went to the closet..ahhh. He pulled out bins that were overflowing with clothes that we probably haven’t worn in months, some even years. Not only are there clothes in there that we don’t wear anymore, but it shoes as well. There is so much stuff in there and it’s really just a mess. I hate to go in there myself. I’m so glad that mess is behind closed doors. Or is it??
As I begin to go through the process of "cleaning out my closet" a couple of things go through my mind as it relates to our Christian walk, so I decided to share them with you. I wonder how many of us need to clean out our closets "spiritually". We have this stuff that we have collected over the years. Things that used to fit that no longer fit, but we still hang on to them. Things that are no longer in fashion or things that simply just don’t fit who we are anymore. When going through my clothes I noticed the length or fit of certain pieces or even some of the over the top things that I can’t believe I had the nerve to wear out of the house. But that goes to show where my mind was at the time lol.
Of course spiritually I’m not thinking literally about clothes, although there are some articles of clothing that I am definitely convicted about lol. I’m thinking more on the lines of our behavior, our conversations, our attitudes and the list can go on and on , I’m sure some of you can insert a few things in that line up yourselves (by all means feel free). When we become Christians a transformation takes place and we are no longer the same!! Praise God! Everything about us changes. Our conduct, character, and conversation all get an extreme makeover. It’s really put so plainly in Ephesians 4:22 -24 that says: 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy (NLT).
Well these are the things that are SUPPOSED to happen but the problem is that a lot of times we don’t really clean out our closet. We sort of surface clean, we straighten it up put and hang a few things back up that fell off the hangers . We fold a few things up and put them in labeled boxes or bins so that we can find them later on.
The Problem with a Messy Closet
Closets are places that we don’t really talk about. We sort of just put all of our junk in there and then forget about them until we need them. We don’t really care about the orderliness of them because we can just close the door and no one will ever be aware of the chaos that is lurking behind it. So we think. The thing is just because no one can see the mess in the closet, doesn’t mean they don’t know it’s there. The mess in our closets has a funny little way of showing up in other aspects of our lives. All the disorder and chaos begins to seep into our relationships causing confusion, depression, anxiety and other things. People start noticing our behavior and the door is no longer closed. We are now exposed; we can longer hide all of this mess we have allowed to build up. We have become short with people, compassion fatigued and burnt out. Some of us have even mastered the art, as one preacher put it, of “functioning in dysfunction”. How could this have happened!! Well, we have been so busy being a “good Christian” and helping others clean out their closets that we have allowed ours to come undone. We even find ourselves taking on others junk and adding to mess behind the door!! We mustn’t forget that during all of our “ministering” or helping that we not forget that we must continue doing maintenance in our own closets. When we see things out of place we need to put them back. When things fall off the hangers we need to hang them back up. Don’t let the stuff pile up, deal with it immediately and most importantly, don’t be afraid to throw stuff away.
The Problem with Holding On to Stuff
The problem with holding on to stuff is that we were supposed to GET RID of it. Not pack it up or tuck it away for later use. All those old sinful ways were to have been removed, not stored away to be unpacked again at our convenience. We all know how it is; we remember a certain thing we use to wear so we go taking down boxes and bins searching for it. Once you find this thing and you put it on and wear it you realize ok I made a big mistake, this doesn’t fit like or like it or some of us may not even get past the trying on process before we realize that it was fit for the garbage. I know I have, and when you look back at your closet you realize that you have allowed it to become junky again!! You went in looking for a certain thing but let other things spill out along the way. Now you’re to overwhelmed and too tired to clean it up, so you just find yourself closing the door again and allowing it to continue to build up again. That’s why it’s important to deal with sin properly. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you and teach you how to cast down and take captive those things that want to continue to resurface in your life. Ask God to help us get rid of these things completely because just moving them to the side makes it so easy for us to put them on again!!
I could definitely go on and on but I must finish cleaning out my own closet. LOL. I hope that I have encouraged you today. Be Blessed.
As I begin to go through the process of "cleaning out my closet" a couple of things go through my mind as it relates to our Christian walk, so I decided to share them with you. I wonder how many of us need to clean out our closets "spiritually". We have this stuff that we have collected over the years. Things that used to fit that no longer fit, but we still hang on to them. Things that are no longer in fashion or things that simply just don’t fit who we are anymore. When going through my clothes I noticed the length or fit of certain pieces or even some of the over the top things that I can’t believe I had the nerve to wear out of the house. But that goes to show where my mind was at the time lol.
Of course spiritually I’m not thinking literally about clothes, although there are some articles of clothing that I am definitely convicted about lol. I’m thinking more on the lines of our behavior, our conversations, our attitudes and the list can go on and on , I’m sure some of you can insert a few things in that line up yourselves (by all means feel free). When we become Christians a transformation takes place and we are no longer the same!! Praise God! Everything about us changes. Our conduct, character, and conversation all get an extreme makeover. It’s really put so plainly in Ephesians 4:22 -24 that says: 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy (NLT).
Well these are the things that are SUPPOSED to happen but the problem is that a lot of times we don’t really clean out our closet. We sort of surface clean, we straighten it up put and hang a few things back up that fell off the hangers . We fold a few things up and put them in labeled boxes or bins so that we can find them later on.
The Problem with a Messy Closet
Closets are places that we don’t really talk about. We sort of just put all of our junk in there and then forget about them until we need them. We don’t really care about the orderliness of them because we can just close the door and no one will ever be aware of the chaos that is lurking behind it. So we think. The thing is just because no one can see the mess in the closet, doesn’t mean they don’t know it’s there. The mess in our closets has a funny little way of showing up in other aspects of our lives. All the disorder and chaos begins to seep into our relationships causing confusion, depression, anxiety and other things. People start noticing our behavior and the door is no longer closed. We are now exposed; we can longer hide all of this mess we have allowed to build up. We have become short with people, compassion fatigued and burnt out. Some of us have even mastered the art, as one preacher put it, of “functioning in dysfunction”. How could this have happened!! Well, we have been so busy being a “good Christian” and helping others clean out their closets that we have allowed ours to come undone. We even find ourselves taking on others junk and adding to mess behind the door!! We mustn’t forget that during all of our “ministering” or helping that we not forget that we must continue doing maintenance in our own closets. When we see things out of place we need to put them back. When things fall off the hangers we need to hang them back up. Don’t let the stuff pile up, deal with it immediately and most importantly, don’t be afraid to throw stuff away.
The Problem with Holding On to Stuff
The problem with holding on to stuff is that we were supposed to GET RID of it. Not pack it up or tuck it away for later use. All those old sinful ways were to have been removed, not stored away to be unpacked again at our convenience. We all know how it is; we remember a certain thing we use to wear so we go taking down boxes and bins searching for it. Once you find this thing and you put it on and wear it you realize ok I made a big mistake, this doesn’t fit like or like it or some of us may not even get past the trying on process before we realize that it was fit for the garbage. I know I have, and when you look back at your closet you realize that you have allowed it to become junky again!! You went in looking for a certain thing but let other things spill out along the way. Now you’re to overwhelmed and too tired to clean it up, so you just find yourself closing the door again and allowing it to continue to build up again. That’s why it’s important to deal with sin properly. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you and teach you how to cast down and take captive those things that want to continue to resurface in your life. Ask God to help us get rid of these things completely because just moving them to the side makes it so easy for us to put them on again!!
I could definitely go on and on but I must finish cleaning out my own closet. LOL. I hope that I have encouraged you today. Be Blessed.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalms 51:7)
Hi Kesha...phew. Boy do I have work to do. One closet at a time. Thanks for the reminder. It really has to be done in all aspects of life. You are an angel bringing us this message.
ReplyDeletePaula of Ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
Come by and visit us some time.