Cleanliness IS next to Godliness!

 Matthew 3:10 “Therefore every tree which does not produce good fruit is on the point of being cut down, and thrown into the fire.”

One of the hardest things to do in life is letting someone go. Breaking up a relationship, ceasing to pursue a friendship, firing someone at work, letting go and bucking a habit can be one of the most difficult tasks in life too. So why go through with it if it’s so hard? I imagine that’s most people’s attitude. We hate conflict whether it’s internal or relational... we avoid conflict like the swine flu (I don’t think “plague” is relevant anymore...)

Obviously we go through with it because of standards we have set in our lives. We all should have standards, expectations, hopes, dreams, vision and some sort of plan for growth. Those things that hinder this growth need to be cut, pruned, and in some sense, destroyed.

I put some more thought into what makes this process so difficult... Relationships, establishing values, standards and character take investment and time, time that could be spent in a million different ways. We have the ability to pick an choose specific people and things we want to invest time in, and because time is a limited commodity, it becomes one of THE most valuable things around.

I’m sure if we took a good hard look into each of our own lives, we’d all discover several things that need to be tossed. Things that take up valuable space or time. Think of all things you drag around with you when you move. Take a look in your spare room closet or garage... yikes. The only value a lot of this stuff has is sentiment. Is that worth the hassle, space or time? (Matthew 6:19) Talk to anyone who’s taken a carload of stuff to the Goodwill... cleaning out, purging and getting organized... it’s one of the most freeing and therapeutic things people do. There’s something so right about simplifying, cleaning and organizing your life.

Put all this in the context of people in your life... but more importantly the people who hinder. I supposed it’s hard to let go of people for the fear of being lonely and wondering if that person will ever be replaced. That’s why we continue to be in abusive or unhealthy relationships. The fear of being alone. We resign to “well, I’ve come this far with this person... might as well stick it out.” We become dependent on whoever or whatever it is that’s got a hold of you. This goes for relationships, addictions, habits, lifestyles, employees, etc.

I know for certain God’s let me know when I need to get rid of someone or something in my life, and I for one have soaked in that fear of wondering “If I get rid of this person... will anyone else come to be in their place?” I’ve had to let volunteers and employees go, I’ve had to walk away from relationships, and I’ve had to let go of habits and addictions that I knew were destructive... and in every case I’ve wondered how on earth I was going to survive. But I can honestly say, that in every case, God has more than filled the space.

I supposed there’s another group of folks that just don’t know any better. To no fault of their own, they live the way they were brought up and honestly don’t know of any alternative. I think that’s one of the main reasons I’m drawn to a vocational ministry... to let people know an alternative to what or who they’ve resigned themselves to may be the most important job in the world. It’s what we’ve been called to do.