Clutter in our home is a spiritual issue, not primarily a practical or physical one. Uncontrolled clutter is suggestive of a number of spiritual concerns, two of which were identified in last week’s post. I talked about two spiritual shortcomings that are revealed by clutter, but a more significant cost to clutter is the impediment to full obedience it can be. God has called us all to glorify Him (I Cor 10:31) and enjoy Him forever (Rev. 21:3,4). We want to rest in perfect peace, but it’s difficult to do when we can’t find our Bibles or we are tripping over last month’s newspapers on our way to our armchair. Not only so, clutter can invert our purpose. Instead of our home being a place that enables us to serve God in the manner He has called us, we serve our home despite how God has called us. We serve our home by the constant maintenance that’s required to keep it in a sloppy, cluttered mess.
But how do we keep God’s purpose uppermost in our minds as we live each day in our homes with all the distracting voices offered by the world around us?
The Marsh family has written our aspirations for our family and our home and placed them on the walls of our house as a continual reminder of what purpose we serve:
As a family we want to glorify God in Jesus Christ in all of life, presenting an accurate portrait of the Godhead to the world around us.
We know God has plans for each of us as individuals, but we also recognize that He has called us to fulfill His plans within the context of our family. We further know that other people are one of the main mechanisms God uses to mould us and transform us into the image of Jesus so not only are the other people in our family helpful in fulfilling our calling; they are necessary.
We are a Christian family and so we not only want to glorify God, but also Jesus Christ His son. We want all of our lives: our home, our leisure, our interactions to glorify and reveal all three aspects of the Trinity. This is characterized by singleness of purpose, a harmony of goals and submission to the greater good by all of us. We want to maintain our individuality, but also have a family identity that allows us to flourish as individuals in a loving, supportive environment. Our hope is that we will reflect the mutual love and purpose that is evident in the Godhead.
These are high and challenging aspirations but we are all committed to seeing them realized in our family. They inspire us when we are feeling defeated or questioning the purpose of maintaining a clutter-free home. Too easily we get caught up in keeping clutter at bay and a neat house for its own sake instead keeping it that way to help us serve God and obey His purposes for us. The tangible reminder on the walls of our home is a great help in our journey to a more stream-lined home.
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