How is all that stuff you have effecting your spiritual life?
Jesus told a parable in Mark 4 and then he explained it to his disciples, yet the explanation needs some explaining in the 21st century. It is the parable of the sower with seeds falling on hard ground, being eaten by birds, being choked out by thorns and finally some of the seeds produced a great crop. Jesus told his disciples that the seed was the word and the ground was the lives of people. How they received the seed (the word) was different according to how ready they were to receive it. There is one group that is caught in the gray area between failure and success. Jesus said, "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." Mark 4.18-19 This plant does not die, but it also does not produce anything. It looks like a plant and acts like a plant, but it is not doing what a plant is intended to do. It is not producing anything. This is like the life of many believers, but instead of thorns that are choking their life it is the clutter of the world that is stopping them. Clutter comes in three forms. There is Physical clutter, emotional clutter and spiritual clutter.
Physical clutter is all the stuff you own, or in many cases that owns you. If you were to make an inventory of everything you own would you have to list a lot of clutter that you don't need or even use. Would you list your bank account, house, cars, TV’s, boat, motorcycle the list goes on and on. When is enough actually too much? I have compiled a list of questions you can ask about your clutter that may help you evaluate it.
1. Have I used this in the past year?
2. Do I have a specific plan to use this item within a reasonable time frame?
3. Do I love it?
4. Does it lift my energy when I look at it, use it?
5. Do I need it?
6. Does it reflect who I am at this time in my life?
7. Does it need to be fixed or repaired? If so am I willing to do it now?
8. How many do I already have, and is that enough?
9. Do I have enough time to use, review or read it?
10. Does this fit with my own values and needs?
11. How does this compare with the things I value highly?
12. Does this just seem important because I’m looking at it now?
13. Is it current?
14. Is it of good quality, accurate, and or reliable?
15. Would I buy it again if I didn’t already own it?
16. Could I get it again if I found I really needed it?
17. Do I have enough space for this?
18. Will not having this help me solve my clutter problem?
19. If I’m letting it go, will I sell, give, or throw it away, and when?
There is also emotional clutter we have accumulated over the years. Fear is clutter or worry magnified to a point of stopping us from living our lives. Hurt can clutter our lives as we allow what someone else did to me to stop us from living life. Clutter can be Anger that is based on some real or supposed grievance that causes us to react in a hateful way toward someone else. (There is a difference between anger that is hateful and anger that is a rejection of evil.) Hate can clutter up a life with prejudice towards others and how you treat them.
There is also spiritual clutter that interferes with our relationship with God. The Pharisees had plenty of this. They were so blinded by their own view that they were of no use to God. In fact they hindered his plans with their rules and regulations. We must be careful or we become of no good to God because of all the clutter in our lives.
So what was Jesus trying to tell us? He was talking about those items in our life that stop us from being productive believers. "Still others, like seed sown among thorns (clutter), hear the word; but the worries of this life (emotional clutter), the deceitfulness of wealth (physical clutter) and the desires for other things (spiritual clutter) come in and choke the word, making it (life) unfruitful (unproductive)." Remember the rich young ruler that came to Jesus. He wanted to know what he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus recognized his need and told him to sell everything he had, give the money to the poor and come and follow. "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19.22 He went sad because he had so much clutter between him and God and he was not going to let go of all that wonderful clutter just to be with Jesus.
What clutter in your life is interfering with your growth as a believer. What is stopping you from being productive? Is it physical clutter? It is only stuff and you cannot take it with you. Is it emotional clutter? Fear, hurt, anger and hate they all come with a heavy price. Is it spiritual clutter? This is the worst kind of clutter because it masquerades as a relationship with God when in truth it is stopping you from being useful to God. That was the problem with the religious leaders who watched Jesus so closely. They had the best clutter of all. What they needed to do was go to CLUTTER REHAB.
Now "seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” That is to say seen sown in a CLUTTER FREE LIFE is productive.
What are you doing with the clutter that stands between you and God?
