If I had a nickel for every time I have to push past rarely-worn clothes in my closet…I wouldn’t have very many nickels. And that is by conviction. (That is, by a conviction about not having a cluttered closet, not by conviction about not owning many nickels. I have no conviction against owning nickels.)

In the previous three posts of this clutter buster series, we’ve seen the benefits of decluttering our hearts, minds, and schedules. In this final post, we look at decluttering our movements.

Yes, our movements.

Perhaps you’ve never considered your daily movements as potential clutter. Undoubtedly, some of them are.

The way I see it, every thirty seconds of wasted time accumulates. What time in your day might you regain if you decluttered your life by simplifying your routines? (more…)

I’m going to postulate about your weekly schedule: it is too full.

And I’m going to make another assumption: there is something you are regularly doing that can be removed.

Am I accurate? If I was accurate on the first point, I can guarantee you that I’m accurate on the second. (If you’re not convinced, keep reading.)

In the previous two posts of this clutter buster series, we looked at decluttering our hearts and declutering our minds. Truly, this is where lasting habits of living clutter free begin. (If you haven’t read those posts, I encourage you to read them before continuing this one.)

But when it comes to our weekly routines, we won’t serve efficiently unless we declutter our schedules. Overloaded schedules lead to stressed out lives. Stressed out lives lead to worry. And worry is a sin. (more…)

As I confessed in the last post on decluttering, I tend toward OCD. I think constantly, rapidly, and in many different directions all at the same time.

Sometimes I think multi-level and multi-directional thinking is a strength. It helps me quickly assess what needs to be done and to delegate. More often, however, I’m learning that it is a weakness.

I’ve been studying the Gospels much lately for the Journey with Jesus message series I’m preaching through. As you read about the life of Christ, you just don’t get the sense that He was obsessive or compulsive. You don’t sense a mind frazzled with details and overwhelmed with activity. Rather, it seems that He was always on schedule, never late, never in a hurry—moment by moment doing the will of the Father.

The one-word answer

In our fast-paced society, our minds become cluttered quickly and easily. So many details in our multitude of deadlines. So many projects all converging at the same time. So many responsibilities to so many people. And top it all with the never-ending demands of the needy people we serve. Sometimes our minds get so cluttered that we aren’t able to effectively think the way we should. (more…)

My family thinks I’m a neat freak. I think I’m just orderly. (Well, maybe it is a little over the top to look forward to a day off so I can clean out my closet.)

But in all seriousness, whatever your personality type or personal level of clutter comfort, disorganization and excess clutter will waste your time and focus. And worse, it is the enemy of availability.

Lives burdened with clutter are often not free to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit or to the needs of those they serve.

Run lean

One of the passages I like to remember at the start of a new year is Hebrews 12:1–2.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The beginning of a year feels like a fresh start in the race God has set before me. It motivates me to re-pledge to give my all to running my race.

Living with clutter, however, is like trying to run my marathon in heavy boots. Whether the clutter be external (disorganized files, messy desk, piled closet) or internal (worry, distraction, strained relationships), it weighs on my mind and spirit.

Decluttering then is really about learning to run lean. It’s about shedding the weights to run an effective race.

January is a great time of year to declutter—to streamline for ministry. Over the next few weeks, I plan to post four blogs on busting the clutter out of our lives…beginning now with part 1:

Start with the heart

You might be surprised with where I believe clutter busting begins—the heart. More specifically, with forgiveness.

Declutter your heart through forgiveness.

Just as sure as a heart attack will stop a marathon runner, so bitterness will be the ruin of a Christian leader. This is why Scripture explicitly forbids bitterness (and all its cousins):

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:—Ephesians 4:31

Bitterness is like plaque constricting the spiritual arteries. It prevents God’s grace from freely flowing to and from the heart. (Bitterness will take a toll on your physical health as well.)

Before you shred a paper or discard a trinket in your quest to declutter, I suggest that you banish bitterness and all its manifestations. You may have a clean desk, a state-of-the-art organizational system, and neatly organized files. But what does that matter if your soul is burdened with bitterness?

Invoke a “no tolerance” policy

A spiritual leader cannot afford to carry the weight of bitterness. Determine now that you will not carry it one day further into this new year.

No grudge.

No hatred.

No jealousy.

Not even a little. Not even for one day.

Light heart, better speed

Evoking bitterness from the heart is a matter of replacing it with its lighter counterpart—forgiveness.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.—Ephesians 4:32

Forgiving someone is like taking off the heavy boots and replacing them with lightweight running shoes. It frees our own hearts, and it enables us to receive and give God’s grace.

All of us will encounter opportunities to grow bitter—to carry a grudge, to nurse a jealousy, to harden our heart toward another. But if we are to effectively run the race set before us, we must look to Jesus and choose to be good forgivers.

Declutter your heart from bitterness, and in so doing, free yourself to run the race set before you.

Other posts in this series:

• The Myth of Multi-Tasking
• Make Your Priorities a Priority
• Reclaim Your Day

Physiologically, a fresh calendar suggests a fresh start. But realistically, January 1 cannot obliterate the needs and burdens of December 31.

What can you do practically to renew your soul for the new year?

Look to the cross.

There is no challenge in the Christian life but that a look to the cross won’t give you a fresh start.

When I read the Gospel accounts of Christ’s crucifixion—His agony in the garden, His trial, the mocking, His scourging, His suffering, His separation from the Father, His ultimate sacrifice—I’m always renewed. I’m reminded of His love. I’m convicted of my selfishness. I’m re-energized by His grace.

I don’t know what challenges you may be facing:

• Discouragement
• Pride
• Besetting sin
• Fleshliness
• Frustration
• Weariness

But if you want a fresh start—on January 1, or any other day this year—I’d encourage you to look to the cross.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him….—Hebrews 12:2–3