But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
2 Timothy 2:20-21
I took too much stuff. I promised myself that I wouldn't but I did. Every time I have moved since being an adult I have taken too much stuff. The same thing happened to me the last time I moved. I still have boxes that I haven't unpacked and stuff I haven't gone through. You know how it is: after you have been packing for days you stop going through every item and start just throwing things in boxes. That inevitably leads to taking too much stuff.
We don't just do this when packing for a move we also do it as we navigate life. We take too much stuff to the next place - the next relationship, the next assignment, the next thing. We take our old mindset into our new relationship. We take past hurts into our new adventure. We take things that have gotten too small or are too worn - things that no longer fit - into our new place and wonder why we don't have room in our closets.
Some of us are making our current husbands pay for what previous men did. Some of us have never really addressed things that did in fact happen with our current husbands. Others of us are carrying hurts and self-esteem issues from our childhood. We never really dealt with the stuff we were holding on to and so it's taking up space - sitting unopened smack dab in the middle of our homes. It takes a lot of time and energy to open those boxes and examine each piece. It takes a lot of courage to make objective decisions about the things we have carried when our feelings want to run away from them.
Our scripture reminds us that even when the house is "great" there are vessels there that don't belong. No matter how wonderful your marriage, how successful you are, how many things you have accomplished there are things that God wants to remove from your life so that you can grow. Actually, He wants you to remove them (note the scriptures says "if a man purge himself") so you can grow. I think it is time for some spring cleaning. Take inventory this week to see what things - what traits, qualities, issues, and concerns - God wants you to purge. Is there unforgiveness? bitterness? anger? low self-esteem? rejection? pride? What vessels of dishonor is God speaking to you about? Will you be brave enough to sit down and begin to go through it? He is right there with you ready to replace the things you purge with so much more!
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