The Message: When life gets cluttered with the debris of sin, it's time for spring cleaning
It's finally spring!
The snow is gone. The weather has warmed, and birds are singing. The grass is turning green, and everyone is happy until they realize the awful mess accumulated in the garage over the winter.
It's time for spring cleaning.
An unfortunate fact of life is everything gets dirty. Things get cluttered, muddy, dusty, clogged, and stained. Sea-going vessels become encrusted with barnacles, which slow the ship's progress through the water. Many rivers are dredged periodically so that the mud and silt won't build up and make them impossible to navigate. Even our bodies are susceptible to this precept. As we age, plaque tends to build up in our veins and arteries, which gradually restricts blood flow.
The same principle applies to other non-physical types of scenarios. Our lives get cluttered with the debris of sin.
Marriage relationships can become clogged with unresolved conflicts and unforgiven offenses. Our minds and hearts can become covered with the litter of ungodly beliefs and attitudes. Such debris hinders our relationship with God and our fellowship with one another. It also hinders our ability to experience complete joy, peace and power in the Christian life.
Since none of us are immune to such problems, a thorough cleaning is in order.
If I were to begin spring cleaning in my home, I would ask my wife, "What do you want me to do?" Similarly, as we start spring cleaning in our lives, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us instructions. But for us to hear his voice, we must listen. Why? Because we have a high capacity for self-deception. We can't trust our hearts to tell us the truth when we are the subject of the investigation. We are not impartial judges of our motives and conduct.
Just as we can be surrounded by clutter in our own homes and not even notice it, we need God's help to see the clutter in our own lives. For this reason, it is helpful to pray as David did in Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."
Asking God to reveal your sin, asking him to shine a light on all the gunk and garbage in your life, is not something you'll find as a common prayer request. That's why facing our sin is something we usually try to avoid rather than intentionally seek out. And that's part of the problem. Often, when God sends messengers to speak to us about our shortcomings, we refuse to listen to correction. We change the subject, we attack the messenger, we leave the room. If that doesn't work, we deny the sin, we redefine it or rationalize it. And finally, if all else fails, we rename the issue to make it seem less sinful or, if possible, even virtuous.
Our faults build up like junk in a garage. Then, if we're not careful, our values may change. Gossip becomes "just sharing my concerns." Greed becomes "thriftiness." A glutton is someone with "a healthy appetite." Pride is reframed as "high self-esteem." Lying is "stretching the truth." A harsh, critical attitude merely indicates that you have high standards.
To have a spring cleaning, we must be willing to let God speak and we must be yielding to his hands, allowing for him to shape us as he desires.
James 1:22-25 teaches, "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -- he will be blessed in what he does."
A former church where I'd pastored had a full-length mirror in the restroom behind the baptistery. It had a purpose. It was helpful if I was willing to accept what I saw in that mirror as an accurate representation of my physical appearance. It revealed if my hair was messed. It disclosed if my tie was crooked or if my zipper was down. However, that mirror wouldn't have done me a bit of good if I just ignored it. And yet, that's what many people do when the Holy Spirit holds the mirror of God's word up to their life.
We've got to let God reveal to us what needs to go and throw it out. Clean it up with the knowledge that the one who not only hears the word and sees what needs to change, but does what it says will be blessed.
The Rev. Hank Roso serves at Midwest Bible Camp in Watertown.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: God asks we clear the debris of sin with spring cleaning
