Just behind the front door is a shelf with coat pegs. It is very convenient when entering our home to remove one’s jacket and hang it up. It’s also a good place to put things on the shelf that I may wish to have sooner rather than later. The other things I put in the closet.
Just across the hall is my office that has a waste paper can. Of course, I don’t just throw paper in there; banana skins, wood shavings, paper, and any other thing that I no longer want resides in there until such time as I empty the can into a garbage bag and set it outside in the can where it is never to be seen again.
I suspect that you, too, have a convenient place to put things that you want to pick up again on the way out. Maybe it’s keys. Maybe it’s your wallet. Maybe it’s something that you are planning on taking but don’t want in your pocket/purse so others can find it, like a gift. Maybe it’s not a gift, but a sin.
Scripture tells us that Jesus offers His yoke in place of ours. We’re supposed to lie down our burden and pick up His. But if we keep putting our burden on the shelf instead of in the wastebasket, our life continues to be one of confusion as to which master we serve: the One of Righteousness or the one of death.
Take stock of your shelf. Keep the things you need, like the gifts, and put in the wastebasket the ones you have cherished for too long. And for Heaven’s sake, don’t put them in the closet!
30 Jan 2011
Warren Johnson
This one's great, too! I was just thinking about the subject of throwing things away, as I've been cleaning out the physical closets this week. I'm going to do a post on my blog about the same concept, of purging the spiritual closet. Should be up Friday... ;)
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