I was looking at my garage the other day. Then I looked at my basement. I couldn’t believe the stuff that has been piling up over these past two years. Things had been placed orderly and neatly. Now shelves designed for car stuff, lawn stuff, kids toys, school memorabilia, books, pictures could all be labeled “miscellaneous”. What happened? What happened is what we call “clutter”.
That word clutter is never used in a positive context. It is saying we have allowed a lot of stuff to accumulate where it really doesn’t belong. That’s not saying the stuff isn’t good stuff. It’s just too much of it. Everything just starts to crowd out the stuff that should be front and center. It looks messy after a while whether it’s our home, mind or life. So we have garage sales, or we take things to Goodwill, or bag them up to give our kids (so they can deal with the clutter.)
Clutter can happen in our spiritual lives, too. I have bookmarks in four books. Two magazines are on my desk waiting to be read. I’m in three Bible studies, involved in two service ministries, in church for worship, (where I hope I can get my mind and heart focused), administrate and lead the church’s mission and vision, meet with staff, give pastoral care.
Spiritual busyness can cause clutter. All good stuff, but maybe too much stuff where I lose sight of what needs to be front and center.
Did you notice something missing from the above list? P-R-A-Y-E-R! And it is never clutter. It should always be front and center. So keep that in mind when you take inventory of your spiritual life. Has a lot of good stuff crowded out the best stuff? Does prayer have its rightful place? Make sure no “clutter” chokes it out or covers it up.
Lord, keep teaching us to pray!
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