A SPRING CLEANING OF THE MIND
Living Stones Series: First Published in All Around Old Bridge Publication – March 2020, Pastor Lloyd Pulley
After a long winter, I look forward to warmer weather and longer days! Just the anticipation of spring is encouraging to me. However, it also means I need to venture into my garage to undo the winter’s depository of accumulated paraphernalia. I ask myself, "How did this happen? Where did all this stuff come from?". Stacked containers of Christmas decorations await storage in the attic. My workbench is covered with a myriad of half-finished projects. Any remaining open space is home to dozens of empty Amazon boxes, the finishing touches of the winter’s residue. This clutter accumulated by simple neglect is a parable for another kind of disorder: clutter of the mind.
Jesus spoke of seed falling on thorny soil which takes root, but is soon choked out by weeds and remains unfruitful. He related this to the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (the thorns and weeds) crowding out any true growth from His truth (the seed) germinating in the heart. Just like a seed full of DNA guiding every aspect of growth; the Word of God is packed with all the code of information needed to guide and correct our lives. But when that seed is choked out by our mind’s preoccupation with trivial matters, we cease to bear the intended fruit. Many may not realize that when we are preoccupied with material things our eternal souls are famished for real meaning. The deadliest of all diseases are the ones that you don’t know you have until it’s too late.
A way to simply diagnose how much this mind clutter has affected you is to ask yourself, "What one thing comes to mind that if you had it all your problems would be solved?". If that one thing is money you would be joined by millions who are fooled by the allure of wealth. The siren call of money and its close cousins: pleasure and power, may lead you to shipwreck on dangerous reefs of spiritual starvation. These common cravings are poor substitutes for the healthier diet of the true purpose and meaning meant for you as a unique person. A soul made in God’s eternal image can never be satisfied by temporary material things.
Do you really believe the "if only" lies? If only I had more money; if only I had a new job; if only I had a new car, a bigger house or more popularity, etc… Unaware of what is truly missing we become obsessed with filling that void with something that cannot satisfy. Today we have an even more insidious threat. We think if we get enough likes on our social media pages we will be happy; although this obsession has only proven to lead to a greater depression. Sadly, the very people who obtain all their heart’s desires in this material world are the few that discover it is vanity and emptiness. But because they become so isolated by success they become even more separated from real people and real meaning. Then depression really sets in!
In the Bible, Joshua exhorted the Israelites to, "choose this day whom you will serve." Who do you serve? Bob Dylan impacted a generation with his song Gotta Serve Somebodyand the lyrics, "...it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody." The lesser gods of money, ego, and sex will never satisfy an eternal soul.
My prayer is for all to be prepared in their heart to receive that precious seed of God’s word. Psalm 23 expresses it well: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul." When you acknowledge God and realize all the good things that come from Him you will begin to grow some true fruit of love, joy, peace, etc…. The more you know Him and love Him the less you will be tempted by empty temporary passions and pleasures. You will do some weeding out of all that has choked out the true you. And so as you get ready to declutter this Spring, I encourage you to reflect on what’s truly cluttering your life.