Our house was built in 1920 and as was the standard of the day, it has plaster walls and ceilings. Now, some ninety-three years later the ceiling in my office is showing an ominous crack. We had a big section of the entry hall ceiling collapse several years back, and we do not want a repeat here. So I get a remodel this summer. The downside is… I have to pack up my office. You have no idea – who am I kidding, I have no idea how much stuff is squirreled away in this room. Most of it, I have gathered and collected over the years, but there is a lot of junk that has passively, insidiously accumulated. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I got busy with other things and let it creep in.
Often times I let my heart get cluttered with a bunch of junk, too. A bad attitude. Some self-righteousness. A grudge or two. I don’t mean for them to slip in. I know they are ungodly and inconsistent with the grace I’ve been given. But they stack up anyway. Sometimes they blend into the background so completely, I don’t even recognize them any more.
I can handle it in one of two ways. I can continue to ignore them and float along… until Jesus has to do a major clean-out operation. He cleaned out the temple a couple of times in the gospels, because the building, the worship and the hearts of the people had gotten so cluttered with junk, they could no longer connect with Jehovah God. The clean-out was public and probably painful for those on the receiving end. Jesus won’t shy away from doing that. But there’s an easier way.
David says in Psalm 139 “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” I can be pro-active. I can go to God and admit that I know I have a tendency to let junk build up in my heart. But I trust Him enough to show Him so He can help me get rid of it. It’s much less painful and it builds intimacy with God.
Just between us, this is something I’m working on. I’m not especially good at it yet. But I know it works.
As far as my office goes… I have 29 or so more boxes to pack.