One of the best memories of my childhood was when my family used to schedule a time each year to declutter our home at the end of the year. This process took us at least two weeks to complete. It was like a big project involving everyone in the house redecorating, repainting as needed, and removing things that were no longer useful to make space for the new. So, for those who have had the same childhood experience and enjoyed it as I did, decluttering your life will be a much more straightforward process than for those who did not have that experience, as it is like the operation of decluttering your home.
To declutter your life means getting rid of the things draining the energy out of you, killing your precious time, and depleting you emotionally, physically, and spiritually, leaving you with just a little strength to get by daily. To cut off anything affecting your health, joy, peace, and enthusiasm for what God created you to do. One way to recognize that you may need to declutter your life is if you have not seen much progress toward your goals at the end of each year.
The Holy Spirit is an awesome teacher who can teach you how to live right and how to get rid of things that you are willing to give up. The Holy Spirit can replace them with the will of God for your life. The way you start by decluttering your life is by having a kingdom mindset, before you start doing anything ask yourself if it will matter in eternity and, if it will benefit your body, soul, and spirit. Will it make a difference in the lives of others and as a result help them find the light and bring them closer to God?
How many things do you have on your to-do list? Are they causing you to be so distracted to the point that you are not able to notice what truly matters the most? Have you stopped focusing on “The good part that cannot be taken away from you?” Perhaps you may say that you are doing the most work, yet you watch your coworker who is not doing much get the promotion that you’ve always wanted. Perhaps you are extremely busy serving God, you are involved in all the ministries in your church and your community, and you may think that God approves of all your busyness. But the truth is that God is not interested in all the activities you claim to be doing for him. God takes pleasure when you stop everything else, you are doing to sit down at his feet and give him your undivided attention, spending quality time with him to hear about what he has to say to you, and then he will reveal to you what he needs you to do for him, now that’s intimacy. Becoming so close to him that you that your heart beats for the thing that truly matters to him, what grieves him grieves you, and you rejoice in the things that he takes pleasure in as well. Decluttering your life is a great way to prove to God that you genuinely want to make yourself available to hear from him.
Let us learn this lesson from the two sisters: Martha and Mary. Martha clearly was good with hospitality, and she had a great idea as she welcomed Jesus and the disciples into her home as they were passing through her village, but what could ever go wrong with wanting everything to look perfect, to be so highly focused on all the preparations, cooking, serving, cleaning making sure everything was on point, that she started to worry about not getting enough help from her sister?
Luke 10:38-42 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Martha was the one doing all the serving by herself, and anyone who was at their gathering that day could have looked at both sisters thinking that Martha was the one doing the right thing and could have felt that she should have gotten at least some recognition for all the serving she was so focused on. But Jesus said it was her sister Mary who sat down at his feet who had chosen the good part and could not be taken away from her. Martha was so frustrated with her sister Mary and asked Jesus “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?”
Now this is where most people make the mistake of thinking they must do everything and surely God will care or should care because they are doing all these activities for him, when really, they should ask God instead, Lord what do you care about? Show us and then we will take action to get it done. How do you know that you have not chosen “the good part” like Mary did? Well, you are frustrated with yourself and with others, you are constantly complaining about the work you are doing, and you are not serving with joy and gladness.
Religion teaches that the more work you do for God the better person you are in God’s eyes or the more God will love you. However, God’s word emphasizes this again and again, it is not about the work that you do so that no one would be able to boast about how much work they are doing in comparison to others. So, why the overbooked schedule that you barely have time to breathe? God’s intention when he created you was not for you to work so hard until your body gives up, dies, and then goes to heaven, God wants you to enjoy life.
So now you are clear on why you don’t need to engage yourself in doing so many things, it’s time to declutter your life, be okay with denying some requests, make time to pray, meditate, time to worship God, and focus on what He tells you to do, spend more time with your family, check on your closest friends who love you dearly. Stop wasting time on useless projects that will not even matter or make any difference in months, years to come, and most importantly in eternity. After you are done with the decluttering process, work on your mindset to learn how to have a better approach to your work. Let us consider some scriptures on how to work God’s way, not your way, and not the world’s way.
God wants you to include him in your work.
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.”
God wants you to work to provide for your family.
1 Timothy 5:8. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
God wants you to work for his kingdom.
John 6:22 “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him, God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
God wants you to enjoy the revenue of your work.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.”
God takes notice of your work.
Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”
God does not want you to covet.
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
God wants you to be faithful in all the work you do.
Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”
God wants to give you favor in the work that you do.
Psalm 90:17 “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”
God wants you to honor him with your increase.
Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase;”
God wants you to pay your tithes.
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
God does not want you to be greedy.
1 Timothy 6:10 “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
God wants you to be a blessing to others.
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure, you use it will be measured back to you.”
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AUTHOR: Natacha Martino Josselin