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Tidy up!

Our sinful flesh, with Satan’s help, makes our lives messy. The Lord gives us the power to clean up.

Have you seen Marie Kondo’s new show Tidying Up? After watching the first show, my husband texted me from the living room while I was in bed telling me that this lady is “life-changing.” He was mostly referring to her folding method, but either way, I didn’t disagree.

The resulting weekend was exhausting and completely liberating. We cleaned out excess books, reorganized a closet, purged some décor items, and organized the kid’s crafting supplies. Why did I have an entire box full of broken crayons? Why was I hanging onto sheets for a full-sized bed that we had gotten rid of over a year ago? Kondo’s show really motivated me to make changes and restore some order to our home.

However, there was one big hindrance to this. Roommates. Tiny little packrat roommates.

Those of you with children surely understand. While getting rid of nearly everything the kids have would spark the wildest kind of joy in my life, it certainly wouldn’t for them. I had to wave goodbye to my sought-after, completely minimalist home.

Maybe I’m being a little bit extreme. But this whole ordeal sparked a thought in my mind. We all have an annoying roommate: our sinful flesh, fueled by Satan. The two clutter up our lives, tripping us into sinning again and again.

What can we do? What can we do when we find ourselves hurting our spouses or friends? What can we do when we fall into our selfish ambitions? What can we do when we find ourselves sharing just that little bit of gossip? What can we do when the devil wins again?

How can we as Christians try to purge our evil desires and sin out of our lives? How do we make choices that will set us up for success? How can we resist temptations?

Find our way back to Jesus!

We know Jesus and his forgiveness. We need to turn back to him and repent of our evil desires and sin. Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Pray about it!

Self-control is not easy. The roommate within is strong. We want to do what is right, but then we struggle. So we pray as Jesus told us, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Revel in our forgiveness!

The love of Jesus and his forgiveness put joy in our hearts. “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14).

Be strong in the Lord!

Jesus gives more than joy. He gives power and strength. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10,11).

Unfortunately, on this side of heaven we will never be able to evict our sinful flesh or its ally, Satan, from being unwelcome, cluttery roommates. But thanks be to our heavenly Father for sending Jesus who forgives us when we fail and the Holy Spirit to help lift us up and to strengthen us to resist Satan’s temptations.

This article is adapted and reprinted with permission from holyhenhouse.com.

Author: Becky Schermerhorn
Volume 106, Number 5
Issue: May 2019

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