Empty Spaces

October 29, 2022

Cleaning out is dangerous. Cleaning is not—- heaven forbid! It’s just that when we empty a space, it can lead to problems.

Yup, I get the desire every once in a (great) while to go through the garden shed or a closet. Things just build up over time and I just need more room.

So I start digging. I throw some stuff out that I know I’ll never look at again. I trash brochures that I picked up at a fair or venue; I guess I just wanted to show some polite interest. I always find a few broken things that I have to admit I’ll never get around to fixing. Other things just need to be moved.

Eventually I end up with an empty, clean space. It makes me smile. I’m proud of myself.

Then the going gets treacherous. Empty spaces tend to be a magnet for, well, lots of things. Ever notice that the closet you empty in March is nearly full by October? A coffee table that was cleared of mail last week now has four new days of mail. The space you made in your daily routine for exercise gets infringed on, time after time.

Jesus warned us of this. Me, I thought he was talking about something else. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus warns his listeners that when your life gets cleared of demons, watch out! Clean spaces will attract other demons.

I fool myself that he’s just talking about demons. It also applies to clean spaces.

Yes, it also applies to my spiritual life. Isn’t it true that, when I make more physical or mental space for good things, it seems ugly things want to jump in that space, too?

When I clean up something, I’ve got to convince myself that clean is how it’s supposed to be!

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, what ever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—- think about such things.” Philippians 4:8