Jump Start # 3618

Ecclesiastes 3:6 “A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.”

It started on a Saturday morning in my garage. I decided it was time to do a massive deep cleaning. Everything was pulled out. Lots of stuff was tossed away. Cabinets, tool bench drawers and even the containers that kept extra screws, nails and stuff like that was gone through. It took hours. Dusted. Swept. And a load to take way, the purging was long time in coming. It was needed. Monday, I came into the office, and decided to start purging my file cabinets. I have a lot of file cabinets.

I had newspaper articles and bulletin articles about people who are no longer alive, such as Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson and Robert Schuller. There were religious groups, such as the Branch Davidians, Faith Assembly, the Moonies that are no longer part of the religious landscape today. Decades ago, when I first started preaching, I’d cut out newspaper and magazine articles about any and all things religious. I had stuff on every dog in town. My garage purging made me realize that there is a bunch of stuff that I was holding on to that has no relevance and no interest today. In the words of Solomon and our passage today, “time to throw away.”

I need to do the same with my books, but not today. Younger generations are minimalist. It seems the older generation are the ones that hold on to things. And, when you add some sentimental factors to all of this, it’s hard for some to throw away. And, much too often, after a funeral, it is another generation that has to go through the mountains of saved papers, files and things. Those items do not hold the sentimental factor to a younger generation. They don’t have the room, the desire, or the need to hold on stuff from parents and grandparents. So, we do our kids a favor by purging now.

Some thoughts on all of this:

First, your life is not defined by stuff. Jesus said, “not even when on has an abundance does his life consist of possessions” (Lk 12:15). We tend to forget that. We like our collections that we have collected. But, that’s not who we are. We belong to Christ. Poor Lazarus, laying at the rich man’s gate, didn’t have much. He seemed to die alone and without any comfort. But the Lord knew him. The Lord took him home eternally. Much like the Pharisees, who got caught up in tithing the small seeds and forgetting character and principle, we can do the same. It’s just stuff. If you have enjoyed it, be thankful and rejoice. But, do not expect others to have your passion nor interest in those things. Likely, they won’t.

Second, as time moves on, and technology changes, things become outdated and no longer needed. I’m a book guy. I have a lot of books. A lot. But, younger preachers have the same number of books, but theirs are all electronic. They carry their entire library with them on a computer. They can search things faster because of search engines built into the electronic programs. There is no longer a need to hold on to old encyclopedias that are outdated. One can’t give them away. No one really wants them these days. Times have changed. There are better ways of getting information. When that catches up to us, it’s time to purge and pitch.

I expect there are many church buildings that could use a good ole’ fashioned deep cleaning and purging. Old class books, outlines, hymn books, just gathering dust in a junk room that few even know what’s in there and no one has the intention of using them again. It’s time to purge and pitch.

Third, but most importantly, it’s time to purge from our minds and hearts, the hurts, mistakes and failures that we have been saving. Don’t hold on to the mean things that others have said about you. Don’t hold on to the disappointments when others failed you. Purge your heart. Get rid of the things that clutter, and do no add value to your character. Some can remember, word for word, mean things that someone said to them decades ago. They have neither forgotten or forgiven such things. Why hold on to those pains? There is a time to throw away.

But in running through the storeroom of our hearts, we’ll find the precious memories of family and friends. We’ll remember the good deeds that others have done for us. We’ll realize that we have been blessed by God and through others. I wonder if our hearts become heavy because we are keeping too many things in there that we shouldn’t hold on to. A good and thorough cleaning of our hearts and minds can do wonders to our fellowship and our walk with the Lord.

There is a time…a time to keep and a time to throw away. Knowing what time it is, makes all the difference.

Roger