Getting Rid of Heart Junk: The BoniMarie Method
There is a best selling book that has been blogged about a lot. Written by a Japanese author, it talks of a Konmari method as a way of keeping your home clean, organized and junk-free.
If you're wondering whether to dispose or keep an item, the author suggests a simple technique: hold the object in your hands and ask yourself one question, Does this spark joy in me?
If your answer is no, immediately discard/donate it. If your answer is yes, keep it. This way, you will only have in your home the things that bring you joy.
Well, I tried this in my house and arrived at mixed results. Apparently, super worn, old t-shirts may be things wives want to get rid of, but they still give hubbies and sons a lot of great joy :D
Now there is another kind of clutter that Christians need to deal with, and that's Heart Clutter. This refers to the junk in our hearts that keep us weigh down, feeling heavy, or oppressed.
Lets call this clean-up process, the BoniMarie method. Haha! (With apologies to the KonMari method!)
The question that helps me clean up my heart is this:
Does this attitude of mine, spark joy in God?
Here is a Heart Clutter that doesn't bring God joy: Holding on to Offenses.
Being a Christian doesnt make us immune to offenses. People hurt our feelings, and sometimes (knowingly or not), we end up offending others. It happens among friends. It happens between spouses.
So what should we do when our feeling get hurt? Should we hold on to our right to be mad? If yes, for how long?
I remember a time when Joey and I had a fight, and I went to bed angry. I couldn't sleep that night, and I knew it was because I was holding on to my hurts.
Me: God, I dont want to talk to you because I already know what You want me to do!
(internal wrestling) But I dont want to forgive!
(More internal wrestling)
God, just to let you know, I also have a hard time with that wives submit to husbands thing!
(More internal wrestling)
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." ? Philippians 2:3
Sheesh, I hate it when verses enter my head when I'm mad! So I decided to get up that night, and read the rest of Philippians 2:
"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world."
It slowly began to hit me that God wasn't trying to make me miserable or lead a lousy life. God wanted me to shine! Grudges were like a black hole of bitterness that, sooner or later, were going to suck the life out of me and others.
If I didn't forgive, what would make me different from the people who didn't follow Jesus? I had a choice to either be a black hole or to a shine like a star! What made Jesus such a shining example was his extraordinary forgiveness. I was a recipient of that mercy, many times over.
Was I going to be a hoarder and collector of grudges, or choose a cleaner, peaceful heart? To get rid of Heart Junk, I needed to ask myself:
Q. Which attitude of mine was going to spark joy in my Savior?
Asking that simple question made it easier. Should I insist on my right in being right? Or to release forgiveness just as Christ has forgiven me?
Dear reader, how about you? Do you have Heart Clutter too?
"Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest." Mathew 11:28CEB
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