Closet Cleaning

“Woe to you, teacher of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” (Matthew 23:25-26)

When I decided to have new carpets installed in the house, I didn’t think through what that involved. By tomorrow, there can be nothing loose on the floor, whether under the beds or in the closets.

Have you looked under your teenager’s bed lately? So yesterday, I tackled this mammoth project, with a lofty goal of completing it in one day. There was one closet in my son, Kyle’s old room, that had become a catch-all. I had not been through it in years. For some reason, I saved it until last.

As I examined it in horror, I decided the only way I could “git er done” was to pull everything out of the closet, piece by piece, heavy box by heavy box. That also meant going through each box to see if whatever it contained was worth keeping.

Kyle’s remaining stuffed animals. Donate. He’s 25 now.

Kyle’s old Thomas the Tank trains. Save. I can’t bear to toss them. I developed a fondness for Thomas.

Newspaper clippings from my television days. Save. Sentimental, even though they are fast becoming ancient records.

Four sleeping bags. I don’t know where to put them.

One by one I went through every box and every loose item in the closet. I got rid of what I didn’t need to keep, and found a place for the things I needed to hold onto. A lot was crammed into an unused bathroom until the carpet is laid down. 🙂

But at the end of the day, I’d accomplished my goal. If there was anything left on the floor, it could be rolled up with the old carpet. Instead of just looking clean on the outside, I could open up my closets to anyone.

I thought, Occasionally, we should go through this exercise with our spiritual closets.

Do we look good on the outside, but not so good on the inside?

What old habits do we need to get rid of?

What negative thought process do we still spiral into?

Are we content in the present, or do we long for the good ‘ol days?

Are the fruits of the spirit evident in us? Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

If not, what in the closets of our heart needs cleaning?

It’s easy to say the right things, and to look pretty on the outside. We can fool most of the people, but we can’t fool God, just like the Pharisees couldn’t fool Jesus with their religiosity.

Like my closets now, I want my heart to be clean. I don’t want to be different on the inside than I am on the outside, do you?

If not, let’s pray Psalm 139: 23-24 together, using it to sweep out the unwanted junk in our spiritual closets:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” AMEN