A Messy Room
As a husband and father to 4 boys, I have seen much in the way of messiness. I have seen boo boo’s that widen the eyes and cause panic; however, I have also seen boo boo’s that call for wasting precious band-aids simply so the youngster will take his scarcely scrapped knee like a “man.” I have dealt with the logic behind every excuse and reasoning from toddler to teen. One thing that has continually stood out is that of the messy room. It’s a feeling of dread as you climb the stairs and open the foreboding door.
It leads to an alternate dimension where you are sure one of your children live, but can no longer discern how or where. You know what I am talking about. One wrong move could spell disaster. Lego blocks strewn across the floor, storage tubs laying on their side and remnants of terrible battles waged between Lego dragons and army men still lying about. The thought then arises, how does one find anything in this place of disorder?
Stuff
Though I would never be considered a modern ‘minimalist‘ I am one to stay periodically organized. When I was a child, it seemed good that something could be found or played with when needed; therefore, things usually had a place. As I got older and realized that ‘stuff‘ started to build up, I would simply purge. Our family still occasionally do this with things, toys, papers and stuff. This idea of purging seems rather foreign to youngsters and it can be difficult to comprehend let alone partake in. But it is important if we are to focus on the things that matter.
Busyness
Back in Egypt, I recall Pharaoh’s response to Israelites when they wished to leave Egypt and go worship their God, “You are idle (or lazy) you are idle that is why you say let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.” In Exodus 5:2 Pharaoh says, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” Pharaoh’s desire was to keep the nation of Israel busy working for him so that they would ‘forget‘ about serving ‘this God.’ This is why he increased their quota of bricks. If they were busy, they would forget about God, right?
Entertainment
We are not slaves to Pharaoh; however, we can become slaves to other things. Like Pharaoh’s desire to keep the nation of Israel busy, we often become too busy and forget the Lord. The average home has 2-3 televisions, 1-2 gaming consoles, computers, and other mobile digital devices. Soon our lives and homes become so cluttered with ‘stuff‘ that we are unable to discern a path through the mess.
Our physical ‘room‘ becomes messy and before long our spiritual room is so cluttered that God is left out completely. I am sure most of us make an honest effort to read scripture and pray. However, I wonder what a compariative analysis would show if our time on digital devices or with stuff, was measured against time with God.
Digital vs. Spiritual
For example, let us say we spend 30 minutes in the morning with God in prayer and Bible reading. During that 30 minutes, what if you counted how many times you pick up your phone or think about doing something else. I know that when I take an accurate assessment of my heart and mind during these times, there is lack or want.
The enemy of our soul seeks to destroy us. He hates all things that are good and holy. He hates God. He hates you if you genuinely love God. He would love nothing more than the shred you and I to pieces. That has not changed, but his schemes have. Satan can just as easily destroy your soul with preoccupation than other things.
Everywhere we look there are calls for our attention, our desires, our money, and we are bombarded from every angle. I was driving the other day and read a billboard that said, DISTRACTED DRIVING IS DANGEROUS! Oh the irony, I thought. I understand, we as a people are inundated with calls for our attention, marketed on every front, and assaulted with new toys daily and this is what the enemy relies upon.
Kill Your Desire, Before it Kills You
What can we do about it? Like the fallen Lego dragons and army men, we must wage war against this fight that has consumed us. I mean really put these desires to death. I heard it said one time, if you really want to know how important something is, find a bench in front of a graveyard and ask yourself “what eternal value does it have?” Jesus said,
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
Truth Hurts & Heals
We were made to worship, and we will always worship something. The problem is not worship, but our sinful desires that entice us to worship anything but God. We accumulate to ourselves ‘things‘ that have no eternal value. We continuously sit in front of our screens assuming we are living life when the people in front of us are ignored and unloved. We flood ourselves with information and post constantly in an attempt to see and be seen; to know and be known, but all of this is inherently full of sinful selfishness and pride.
Organize Your Time With Intentionality
You and I must organize our time and do it with intentionality. I know some people do not thrive at organization but it can be learned. It may seem a far off to grasp concept, but incremental steps are steps regardless. It is in these moments that we realize how much time we waste on frivolous things with no eternal impact.
We must forecast our time with the Lord, so that we are able to put away the things of this world and submit to Him in full (Deuteronomy 6:5). If everything we are flows from our heart (Proverbs 4:23), then we should guard it and fill it with the Lord. This takes intentionality. The definition for intentional is “done on purpose.” Using the word intentional is a nice way of saying, DO IT!
We all do many things with intentionality: cooking, cleaning, scrolling, watching, playing, talking, and a mess of others. However, when it comes to time with our Creator we seem to forget what intentionality means. Start out small and intentionally spend time with God one day a week; then move it to two, and continue to increase until it is an intentional part of your day, every day. Do not sell out to the world’s hedonism. It is exactly the opposite of what we are called to do as Christians.
Pray! Pray! Pray!
Did I mention, pray? If we believe the Bible is truly the word of God, then we must believe what it says not only about Him, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but also about us. Therefore, we must accept how hopeless and helpless we are without God. Paul reminds us to pray to the Lord in all things (Phillippians 4:6-7) and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ. Our spiritual room is messy and and if we are not able to find our way through, we must cry out to God in prayer for help.
I know this is tough. I know we all have like a bazillion things to do. I know that we get tired, overworked, frustrated, and dare I say it, lazy. But we must persevere in the faith which was given us in Christ Jesus by way of the Holy Spirit. Spending time with our Creator uninterrupted must be an intentional battle against the prince of the power of the air. We will not depart from our idleness (television, internet, mobile phone, games, etc..) unless we cry out to God for His strength to overcome. This has to be done continually. We must seek His help through the empowering of the Holy Spirit each moment of each day.
Jesus said to ask in His name and it will be given. Rightly understanding Jesus’ words means asking for that which is in line with the Lord’s will. Think about the word “in line.” In line skates typically have four wheels. God at the front, Jesus next, the Holy Spirit and then you, or me. If we put ourselves first, subsequently leaving God behind we are sure to wreck. The easiest times to worship God are when we feel like it, the hardest is when we don’t. If we get in line with God and cry out to Him for help, He will enable us to walk in the spirit and not carry out the desires of the flesh. If your spiritual room is messy, ask God to help you clean it!
Please let me know how I can pray for you.
