Why it is Time to Clean out Your Closet - Spiritual Nugget 53

All of us have closets, either physical (residential) or mental. A physical closet is a place that is private and is not opened to everyone. A mental closet is secretive—a place where we can retreat. Like many of us, we usually have stuff in our closets that we need to eliminate by discarding or giving away.
 
Because of sentimental value and pleasant memories, discarding or giving away things in your physical closet can be nostalgic. On the other hand, since the mind does not forget anything, tossing certain things hanging or stored in your mental closet can feel like struggling to climb a giant mountain. It won’t be easy.
 
Your mental closet contains a mishmash of collected stuff—different sizes, different occasions, events, situations, and people. A short list of items might include failure, disappointment, frustration, offense, and unforgiveness. If you try to recall some of them, you will discover that many have begun to fade, while others are as vivid as getting a brand-new pair of shoes.
 
Most of you probably are familiar with several of the film and television adaptations of the original Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The story's plot focuses on a miserly, cantankerous, and bitter old business owner named Scrooge, who mistreats his employees and nephew and refuses to celebrate Christmas. In the film, Scrooge first sees the ghost of his former business partner. Later, he is visited while in bed by three spirits Past, Present, and Future. Although the film implies that Scrooge experienced these events, more realistically, they took place in his mind. Can you imagine if all the negative things we held in our minds surfaced in the same manner as Scrooge? I, for one, would probably seek medical attention.
 
If we allowed them, some of the short list items would tend to corrupt our minds. For example:

• Failure: It should be perceived as nothing more than a falling short or a lack of success by some person’s(s’) standards. Don’t let those standards dictate your steps. (Romans 12:2)
• Disappointment: It is a temporary let down; do not give it more life. When one door closes, another will open. God’s timing is perfect. This is not the end. (Psalm 37:23)
• Offense: It can be viewed as an insult. However, you can hold on to the bow and arrow of offense, or you can drop the bow and thank God for His love in the larger lesson and His purpose within you. Release your offender emotionally, and the spiritual will follow. (I Thessalonians 5:18)
• Unforgiveness: According to the Bible, there is no offense so gross that it goes beyond God’s forgiveness, except unforgiveness. Train yourself to crush your stinking memories and leave them behind. Forgiveness does not mean that you don’t have a right not to forgive, or to be angry and offended. Instead, you realize that God is the solution for your offender. (Philippians 3:13)

 
Our mental closets will significantly improve with regular and frequent cleaning. The maturity of your inner person depends upon your mind connecting to the heart, the central branch of your spiritual and moral life. The apostle Paul advises us to continually “renew our mind” so we will know God’s desire for success. (Romans 12:2)
 
Stop hoarding unnecessary junk. Clean out your closets to make room for a healthier life and greater blessings!

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