I recently listened to a podcast episode on the topic of decluttering, focusing on the reasons why we all need less stuff, and why it\u2019s often so hard to make that happen. (Yes, please follow me for more tips on exciting ways to spend your free time!)<\/p>\n
The episode covered psychology and strategy, tips and tricks, and questions to ask yourself. But I was struck by a key starting point that \u2014 though not explicitly stated by the host \u2014 ran through every facet of the discussion:<\/p>\n
You must tell yourself the truth.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n To declutter, or to make any sort of life change, we can only move forward if we are honest with ourselves \u2014 not only about who we are right now, but about who we will or won\u2019t become.<\/p>\n Some examples from the episode:<\/p>\n No, I won\u2019t actually ever become the person who makes these random antique table legs into lamps.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n No, my high school kids aren\u2019t going to start bonding over this second-hand foosball table we\u2019ve been using as an open-faced filing cabinet since they were in fifth grade.<\/em><\/p>\n No, I won\u2019t actually find the time in my hectic life to make a farmhouse table out of this barn wood I\u2019ve had in my garage since 2008.<\/em><\/p>\n No, I won\u2019t magically transform from \u201cthe person whose idea of a perfect night means eating ice cream alone and binge-watching <\/em>The Bachelor in my pajamas\u201d into \u201dthe person who throws lavish, charming cocktail parties on the regular.\u201d I can let at least a few of my five sets of fine china and shrimp forks go.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Decluttering isn\u2019t a big hangup for me; I love the silence of free space. But I have many other dark places where it\u2019s hard to face the light of reality. And I must learn that if I can\u2019t do that, I\u2019ll never grow.<\/p>\n The honest truth about spiritual best practices \u2014 and all best practices \u2014 is that they must start with telling ourselves the truth.<\/p>\n As Pastor Mike often says, \u201cwe are not who we are, we are who we are becoming.\u201d My spiritual and emotional life is often packed with useless clutter that mirrors the examples in the podcast. I sort through the piles of my sin, operating on some vague notion that I\u2019ll magically morph into someone different in the future \u2014 someone who knows how to make sense of this mess. I tell myself I\u2019ll become someone new once my circumstances change, or certain people move on from my life, or I can \u201cjust get through this season.\u201d<\/p>\n But I need to tell myself the truth: I will become someone new only if I am currently cooperating with God on a path \u2014 however slowly \u2014 to allow a new person to emerge. If I\u2019m making only unwise decisions now in a certain area, I am building an unwise person that\u2019s on the road to a date with death, brick-by-bad-choice brick (Proverbs 14:12, Romans 8:5, I John 1:8).<\/p>\n On the other hand, sometimes the truth is far better than the story I\u2019m telling myself. I have a vicious, condemning inner critic that, for far too long, I convinced myself was the voice of God. But I know that there is \u201cno condemnation for those who are in Christ\u201d (Romans 8:1), so that voice can\u2019t be Him. I have a tendency to let the news fill me with fear and fatalism for our world, but in reality I know that \u201cmany are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand\u201d (Proverbs 19:21).<\/p>\n Did you notice the key to being honest with yourself as a Christian? It\u2019s letting scripture be your guide to reality. Jesus Himself said it best: \u201cThe truth will set you free\u201d (John 8:32).<\/p>\n The beginning of all good spiritual habits is asking God to use the promises of His Word each day to tell yourself the truth:<\/p>\n Ask Him to help you be honest about yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n I am at heart, a human sinner, and I will fall short of the only perfection \u2014 God\u2019s glory \u2014 every single day. All of the trying in the world will not improve myself out of this condition. I need His grace (Romans 3:23, I John 1:8).<\/p>\n But I am also loved beyond my imagination. I didn\u2019t need to change a thing for Jesus to devote Himself to me with extravagance. While I was still doing things that told Him I didn\u2019t want Him, Christ gave his life for me. He loves me in this extravagance every day, providing blessings and personal care far greater than I deserve. I have His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9, John 1:16, 2 Timothy 1:9).<\/p>\n Ask Him to help you be honest about your circumstances.<\/strong><\/p>\n In this world I \u201cwill have trouble\u201d (John 16:33). I can expect hardship; it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise to me when things go wrong. Creation has been broken by sin, and as a result, things here decay and distort and die.<\/p>\n Likewise, the world isn\u2019t as bad as the 24-hour news cycle is telling me it is (in order to keep me fearful and angry so I\u2019ll stay tuned in). I can pause to look around my own life and see that the headlines I\u2019m hearing are twisting the reality of how people actually act and think, and the truth I can actually see and touch. I can run away from lies that are designed to make me live in anxiety: \u201cDo not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread\u201d (Isaiah 8:12).<\/p>\n In either case, Christ has \u201covercome the world.\u201d I\u2019m not in charge. I don\u2019t have to worry, and I don\u2019t have to fix anything. I\u2019m free to enjoy His blessings and trust in His providence (Romans 8:31-35).<\/p>\n Ask Him to help you be honest about who He is.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n God is a vast, infinitely huge God. He spun the heavens into orbits, and holds the seas in their place, and gives the stars their orders (Job 38). His very words can create life (Romans 4:17).<\/p>\n But God is also infinitely small enough to want to know me personally. And that is how I should get to know Him \u2014 not by checking off to-do list items of devotionals and Bible studies and prayer plans \u2014 but by sitting down to spend time with the person who is Jesus, talking and listening and laughing and crying and learning. I can pull up a chair to meet Him, and expect Him to be the brother and friend He says He is (John 5:15, Hebrews 2:11, Mark 3:34-35).<\/p>\n In the end, all spiritual growth and best practices begin here, with knowing Him. That is because all honesty is found in Him. Christ is the Life and the Way, and He is the Truth (John 14:6). No one comes to the power that God has to change us without encountering the personal Jesus: on the day we first meet Him, and every day beyond.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”Small Line” line_alignment=”center” line_thickness=”2″ divider_color=”accent-color” animate=”yes”][vc_column_text]\n [vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” gradient_type=”default” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”padding-10-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":109988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,23,97,46,106,38],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-study","8":"category-christian-life","9":"category-gospel","10":"category-magazine","11":"category-spiritual-growth","12":"category-theology"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth<\/h2>\n
How to Start Telling Yourself the Truth<\/h2>\n
Looking for a place to call home? We\u2019d love to meet you! Click here<\/a> to introduce yourself and learn more about Grace Church, or click here<\/a> to find a campus near you.<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"