Keep and Throw Away

There is a time for everything... "a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away..." (Ecclesiastes 3:6).

It's amazing how easy it is to accumulate stuff. Before you know it, you have too much stuff laying around. And then, as it did for us this past year, comes the time to move. Do you move all your stuff or do you get rid of some of it?

Some folks are pack rats, and the easy answer for them is, "Obviously, you move it all. I can't bear to part with any of my stuff." They may have stuff that they know they will never use again, but it's their stuff and no one can make them get rid of it.

Others are purgers, and as soon as something is no longer useful, they throw it out. Even if that means they have to buy another one of whatever-it-is later. The goal is having a streamlined lifestyle. Get rid of it. If you haven't used it in a year, or a few months, it's gone.

I learned this past year I fall somewhere in between these two extremes. I am a pack rat of things that either (a) have sentimental value or (b) have some connection to a favorite sci-fi franchise. I know I have things stored in our shed now that my kids will throw out when I'm gone, but I can't bring myself to do it. No, I will probably never pull out and display that trophy from high school speech team, but I still can't bear to part with it.

On the other hand, there are times I might wake up on a Saturday morning and feel the urge to purge. Suddenly, things go into the trash bin or the recycle bin and then, months later, I'm left wondering, "Where did that go?"

Bottom line: when we moved, we got rid of a lot of stuff. It was, most definitely, a time to "throw away." But we still have too much stuff.

There is a time to keep and a time to throw away.

What is true in our physical life is also true in our spiritual life. There are habits we have that are helpful in our spiritual growth; those are things we should hang onto and actively practice. And then there are habits in our lives that are a detriment to our spiritual growth. These might be addictions or the way we waste free time or bad relationships...or any number of other practices and life situations. Those things need to be thrown away, just as ruthlessly as we would throw away things we no longer need. There may even be practices that, at one point in our lives, once helped us connect with God but now are more of a legalistic obligation. Those things should be thrown away as well to make room for new disciplines or practices that help us truly connect with God.

Let me share an example of this. When I was in college, my involvement in InterVarsity first taught me the value of a quiet time, personal devotions. And InterVarsity at that time taught a particular "format" or method of going through those times, as well as a certain length of time. The idea was to give college students, away from home for the first time, a structure and a plan for drawing near to God. And it was incredibly helpful for me. I grew so much during those years. But I learned, especially when our first child came along, that to continue to practice that form of discipline was no longer practical. There were very few long periods of time in the day that were really "quiet." I had to learn more of a "devotion-on-the-go" method and "throw away" my old way of doing things. Otherwise, I was just subject to lots of frustration as baby Christopher kept interrupting my quiet time. Now, as the kids have grown, I've adapted to yet another way of connecting with God because my life has changed. I've learned God is in all of that; he's not concerned with a specific way, just that we do find time to worship, study and pray. Throughout these years, there have been times to keep certain disciplines and other times when I've had to throw them away in pursuit of a greater connection with God.

There is a time to keep and a time to throw away.

What's on each side of the list for you today?