Pruning

I have been thinking, that as we walk as Christians, its like taking care of a plant. A flowering, or fruit-bearing plant. These two types of plants need plenty of water, sunlight, weeding, and pruning. So many of us fail to grow spiritually because we aren't willing to do what I call a "Spiritual Pruning". A spiritual pruning is a rather simple concept. If you don't prune yourself (i.e. get rid of the stuff thats keeping you from your full potential in God) you can't expect growth, or to see fruit produced from your labor, or lack thereof. We can read our Bibles and go to church all we want, but if we are allowing things that don't belong into our lives, and don't get rid of them, all of our Bible-reading and church-going is in vain.

I think of it like a show I recently saw on TLC called "Hoarding: Buried Alive" which was a documentary of people who were compulsive hoarders. They would collect things, and wouldn't be able to stop collecting or to get rid of things. It got to the point where they couldn't even walk through their own homes because it was so full of junk. Their hoarding drove a wedge between them and their families, to the point where their own children couldn't stand to come to their parents homes because it was unsafe, unsanitary, and smelly.
These people who were compulsive hoarders generally had good intentions. They saw something that they knew could be useful, so they picked it up and brought it home, that way when someone needed something, they could give it to them. The problem was, this habit overcame their desire to give, it became a desire to stock. They saw something that they might decide they need one day, and that if they didn't get it right then, then it would be a waste because they had an opportunity to get that item and they passed it up.

There were other people where their hoarding got to the point where they wouldn't throw actual garbage away. For years, they would not throw away carryout containers, rotting food, paper plates kitty litter (used kitty litter). and their houses would be condemned by the city.

A lot of times we become so attached to our junk, that we panic at the thought of losing it. We become complacent and set up housekeeping in our issues, because we know it well, and we feel safe there. we loose sight of the fact that the God who created us has more for us then our stuff can offer. All we have to do is get rid of the bad in order to receive the good. And we can't do this on our own. We need to recognize that we have problems, and allow God to take them away. We have to make room for God to move into our lives.

These Hoarders on the tv show realized they had a problem. So they contacted psycologists to get help. And in the end, they were able to get their homes cleaned up, and there children and spouses were able to move back into the space where the junk had taken over the parents/spouses life.

Compulsive hoarding is a mental illness. So once they got help it didn't mean they were miraculously healed. They have to learn ways to deal with their problem. They have to learn how to get rid of the bad, and have to constantly be on the lookout for their behavior, and to learn to recognize what makes them want to start collecting things, so they can squelch it.

Its the same with pruning. A good gardener takes care of their flowers and plants, by pulling away the dead leaves, flower, and buds, which in turn allows new whole and alive and better things to take their place. But if you don't do this, the plant will eventually whither away and die.

If we let our issues take over our lives, we will loose sight of God and will whither away.