Good morning. “The Nevis Church of Christ”, that was the name of the home church of my youth. It was everything you would expect from a little country church on the edge of a very small town. Most of what went on there was pretty standard stuff, but there were a few things that caused an inquisitive young mind to wonder.
One of those things that I thought to be unusual was a bookshelf in the small room behind the worship area. What I considered odd about it was the selection of books it held. It was the holding area for books that no one would ever again open or read. You know what I mean, every church has such things, and maybe your home (and mine) has something similar.
The top two shelves of this particular bookshelf were filled with a set of old, black, hymnals. They were tattered and torn from years of use and were no longer touched other than the annual spring-cleaning day, at which time they were dusted. I asked one of our “church ladies” (yes, we had those too) why they were being kept since it was obvious that no one used them. After all, the church had long since replaced them with another set of hymnals which were dark blue.
In response, I received one of those forlorn looks from Mrs. Hanson that said, “what a silly question you foolish child”. “Why, we can’t just throw those away!” she explained, “they could still be used by someone someday.” Being a bit stubborn, even as a child, I had to ask, “Are you sure?” As it turns out, she was quite sure, and she let me know that it was time for me to mind my own business and quit asking questions.
Every church, and I would guess it is also true of virtually every home, has boxes, tubs, and/or piles of “stuff” that are no longer of use but are too “good” to throw away. If a stranger should look upon your pile of such “stuff” they would undoubtedly think that you were hoarding junk. Of course, the odds are very good that if you visit their home you will find something similar.
Ecclesiastes 3 is most known for the rather long list of things entitled “there is a time”. The chapter begins with “For everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:6 reads: “a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away”.
I think it may be helpful for us to consider what there might be in our personal life that needs to be “cast away”. Is there an old grudge that is kept in storage? Is there a dark sin that is hidden away, but we refuse to find the strength to let it go? Are there archaic ideas that you know are either untrue or at least unhelpful that you have set aside in spiritual storage? Is there anger that festers, or are there fears that plague you?
Perhaps it is time for a bit of spring cleaning, a time to judge what we should keep and what we should cast away.
Vern