Ready to clean house?

I want to write to you today about clutter. Right, the stuff that is all around your house, car, office and life. The stuff that you swear you are going to deal with if you only had the time. Yes, you got it, the stuff that drives you crazy and makes you unable to relax even in your own house. You know, clutter.

One of the books I am currently reading is John Ortberg’s latest, When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box. Great book so far. Ortberg is one of my favorite authors because he explains things in a way I understand and challenges me at the same time. I just read his chapter about clutter. About the stuff we save and hold onto, the stuff we cannot do without. Ortberg talks about it being the stuff that gets in the way. He explains, “There are now more than 30,000 self-storage facilities in the country offering over a billion square feet for people to store their stuff. In the 1960’s, this industry did not exist. We now spend $12 billion a year just to pay someone to store our extra stuff! It’s larger than the music industry.” (Orberg 83) He further goes on to talk about how it is only stuff, it is not eternal, and that if we spent as much time, finances and energy investing in things that are eternal by nurturing our Spiritual lives and living the life of a disciple who knows what sort of impact we could make in the world God has entrusted us with managing. What kind of change agents for God could we be if we began with a 12 billion dollar budget each year?

But first, you have to get rid of your clutter. Get rid of all that stuff that is getting in the way. The stuff that is preventing you from doing the things you are called to do. If you took an inventory of your clutter today, what would you find? Is the clutter in your life making you feel better? Is it nourishing your soul? What if you spent your time that you manage (or mismanage) your clutter and dedicated it to God? It is time to clean house and channel all that clutter energy toward God. Care to join me?