I recently read of an elderly gentleman who literally had to be cut out of his home by the local fire department because he was trapped in his room by his own mountain of trash. Because he refused to throw away anything, it was only a matter of time before he had built his own prison.
While I am not an “all-star” hoarder like that, I am afraid I could play for the minor league. Let’s just say I’m “sentimental.” You never know when a fellow may need a used tire, a broken air conditioner, or the directions to a VHS machine to save the day. It’s better to be safe than sorry, right?
Sometimes it is just hard to let go of things with which we have become comfortably familiar, even if it is trash! The past, good or bad, is safe because the past is known. The future is frightening because it is unknown. But whether we embrace it or not, we all live in the present and can only move in one direction: into the future.
There is a difference, however, between being swept into tomorrow and actively and intentionally stepping ahead. We are being pushed ahead against our will when we cling to the past.
There are at least two ways in which I often have been guilty of “clinging to the past.” Sometimes I have been reluctant to move beyond past successes, and sometimes I can’t seem to shake past failures. In both cases, what suffers is my future.
The Apostle Paul certainly would have understood my plight. In Philippians 3:13-14, he says,
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
In short, he is saying, “I know that I haven’t arrived, so I will press ahead toward God’s purpose for me with a simple focus.” Both the wickedness of his past and the religious accomplishments of his past beckoned Paul to linger. He responded by lacing up his sandals.
Like a lady with a new wardrobe or a man with a new mower, each of us has to make room for the future by cleaning out the clutter. Remember the feeling of freedom you enjoyed the last time you cleaned out your junk drawer, or the last time you cleaned up your computer? You had a clean slate. You had room to grow.
A simple focus on the future means coming to grips with four truths:
1. You can’t please everyone.
2. You can’t do everything.
3. You can’t be everywhere.
4. You can’t live in the past and present at the same time.
So, the questions to ask yourself are:
1. Who will you please?
2. What will you do?
3. Where will that take you?
Even if you can’t answer the last question, this is the way to intentionally cut through the clutter holding you back and press toward God’s mark with a simple focus.