Hoarders! You know the people who can’t get rid of anything. They accumulate and accumulate until their house is so full of stuff until it affects their life. There is a reality television series about hoarders. I came across it the other night while channel surfing trying to find something to watch.
Hoarders often think of themselves as collectors. The problem is they collect or hoard so much stuff that it begins to push them out of their house. Rooms become so full of stuff until you cannot even enter the room. You open the door and there is wall of stuff.
There are those who are such hoarders until it spills out of their house out into the yard and becomes an eyesore. That’s when the neighbors often get upset. Recently I saw on one of the local news shows where a hoarder’s yard was completely full of stuff and the neighbors were complaining to the local law enforcement to see if anything could be done.
The truth is, we all know or have known someone like this. We may even have had a family member who was a hoarder. And, the truth is some of us may have a little hoarding in us. You know those things we just can’t get rid of because we may need it someday. Of course, we have had it for ten years or longer and have not needed it. And so, it builds up until … I want you to think with me that some may not be hoarders of stuff, but are hoarders of activities and busyness. I call it the “cluttered life.” The truth is just as we can collect clutter, stuff or junk around our house until we can’t live there we also let our lives become so full of activities and busyness until all the important things may be pushed out of our lives.
The truth is when we allow our lives to become full of clutter of activity and busyness there are some terrible results. For starters we begin to neglect relationships. When my life is full of activity and busyness then my relationship with my spouse suffers. We no longer spend time together doing the things we enjoy.
Our relationship with our children suffers. You know what I mean here. You do all this important stuff while your kids are growing up and miss ballgames, dance recitals, class plays, church choir programs. You wake up one day and your children are gone and they don’t have anything to do with you.
Our relationship with friends suffers. You remember that best friend you had when you were kids and you spent time doing fun stuff together. But as life goes on we begin to let other activities into our lives and we get so busy until one day you realize it has been years since you have seen your best friend much less spent time with them.
The most affected relationship when I get too busy is my relationship with God. I don’t have time to pray or read my Bible much less sit and mediate on God and His goodness. I then grow farther and farther away from God until there is no real intimacy with God.
Do know what is really frightening is that often a Christians business and activities are good things. Things we can justify doing. Trust me I know what I am talking about. As a Christian minister my life has been a constant of doing things for the church and for people.
The truth is that all these important relationships (spouse, child, friends, and God) have suffered because I hoarded activities. Let me tell you it is not easy to break the addiction of busyness, but I am going to try to declutter my life of so much activity and busyness.
How about it? Won’t you join me? Let’s declutter our lives and build good relationships. Starting with our relationship with the Lord.
