It has been quite a job getting back to normal at the Harris home. A flooded house with the need for major reconstruction meant almost all our stuff had to be boxed up and taken to storage. Furniture, books, kitchen goods…and way too much of things we no longer need. It has been a big process in sorting through the myriad of boxes and deciding what stays or goes.

The folks at Thomas Nelson Publishers posted a list of things that we should be tossing out of our spiritual lives, too. It hit home with me as I related it to the things we were needing to discard around the house. Let me share a few.

Let Go of Grudges  

So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

Luke 17:3-4 NIV

Notice that this passage in Luke requires readers to act; to be on the alert: “Watch yourselves” when it comes to relationships. It’s as if Luke knew that we would always struggle with loving and forgiving our fellow man. Fast forward to today and we see that he was right.

Letting go of grudges requires something more from us than passivity. It requires an acknowledgement that we bear the grudge and then the willingness to not only forgive the wrongdoer but to set them free. And when we set them free, we set ourselves free, too. See how that works?

Box Up Hurt 

Jesus wept. 

John 11:35 KJV

These two words – “Jesus wept”—prove, as well as any others, that Jesus truly experienced human emotions. On this occasion, He was in deep mourning. He’d just been told that His good friend Lazarus had died.

Weeping is that deeper groaning—that gut wrench that comes from a heart that literally, physically, feels like it’s breaking. And these words “Jesus wept” continue to remind us today that Jesus understands the affairs of the heart.

Your hurt is your hurt and no one can or should minimize it. Admittedly, hurt is hard to let go of. But could this be time to part with some of it? Painful memories? Broken promises? When you box up hurt, you make room for joy to move in.

Shred Perfectionism 

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:15-16 NLT

There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that we are called to be holy. The bad news is that we think “holy” means “perfect.” We’ve watched and listened as the media has painted a picture of perfection and convinced us that if we only work extra hours, try harder, augment our appearance, and spend more, we too can become the perfect employee, the perfect spouse, the perfect parent, the perfect hostess, and the perfect adult child. Enough already!

Only one Person is perfect. And through the power of His Spirit living in you and your devotion to prayer and the Word, He will make you—not perfect—but holy.

Send Inferiority Packing 

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 NLT

God sees you clear to the heart, too. He sees your lovely heart. He applauds your giving spirit. He appreciates your kindness toward others. He knows your genuine concern for your fellow man. Any inferiority you may feel doesn’t come from God. Inferiority is a tool the devil uses to try and convince us that we’re not good enough. You, my friend, are “ferior!”

God—the creator and ruler of the universe says so!

So… along with the boxes in my garage, I need to go through what is in my heart and be sure to get rid of those things which do not please God and are in opposition to His Word for my life.

Will you join me in that process? Grab a box and let’s begin!

God’s best…