Are you thankful for trash haulers? I am. Around here, Friday is garbage day. Early every Friday morning some men come around with a large truck to haul away everything I’ve put in the trash cans. I take out the garbage on Thursday night to be sure I don’t miss the truck. In fact, I take out the garbage throughout the week. Probably you do too, because we don’t want it stinking up our house!
Maybe you’ve known or heard of someone who hoards things. What we would consider trash just keeps piling up in their home. We might ask, “How in the world could someone live like that?!”
I wonder if we took a look in our “spiritual home” what we might find cluttering up the place. Our spiritual home the core of our being. You might think you have your spiritual home all cleaned up. But have you checked it for the trash that crowds out a thankful spirit? Things like bitterness, envy, resentment, gossip, anger, worry, unforgiveness, and discontent are easily hoarded. Of course, we have rationale for why we keep them around. “If you only knew what Sally did,” we say, trying to explain away our unthankful ways. “If you knew the troubles I’ve faced, you’d understand being bitter.” I get it. We all have our sorrows that beset us and threaten our gracious hearts. But when you realize that NONE of these hoarded attitudes do you any good, you may be moved to take them to curb like the unwelcome guests they are.
Our spiritual home is where we talk to God and also where we grumble. It is where we give thanks for so many blessings. At the same time it is where we harbor resentment toward others. Our negative and impure thoughts clutter up our spiritual home. Our self-seeking and lazy habits add to the piles of trash that make our home anything but ‘home sweet home.’ Like a hoarder, we may not see the piles amassing. We may not observe how they are crowding and overtaking our spirit. It’s easy to become accustomed to the stuff around us and not be bothered by it. But after a while it starts to smell. And not like a sweet fragrance our life is intended to be.
Just as people find it satisfying to ‘simplify’ their homes by removing the clutter, so keeping our spiritual home clean brings satisfaction and renewal. Let’s sweep out the stuff that hinders our ability to live thankful lives.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . .And be thankful. Colossians 3:15