Devotional: Getting Rid of the Good in Favor of the Best

Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

As I apply this verse to my life, I see it has many applications. Of course there is the obvious application. We must choose to suffer rather than succumb to the temptations of sin and we must keep the reward God offers in our sights at all times.

This verse has a more practical meaning for me. Often, I collect and hoard things that are good (the treasures of Egypt) and these things work to my detriment because I don't have places for all of them in my home. The result is clutter and disorganization. I must choose to suffer by getting rid of these precious treasures in order to achieve a home and workspace that is free of clutter and disorganization.

I can not be effective in my service to God and my family if I am living in clutter and disorganization. I can't be a good steward of my resources if I can't find them and have to buy replacements. I can't obey God's command to be hospitable if I am too embarrassed to invite guests over. My family suffers when I am not able to find things and I get cranky because of the confusion and mess. I suffer because it saps my energy and strength.

I need to keep my eyes on the reward of being able to have a clutter free home and know where things are kept, I need to keep my eyes on the reward of God's approval and the reward of being able to be a more effective servant and steward of His resources.

So as I begin (again...) to try to get a handle on the clutter and disorganization in my life I need to ask myself these questions about the things I have:

• Ask do I absolutely need it? Do I love it? Do I use it?
  
• Do I have unrealistic expectations on how much I can do at one time? Can I declutter even one item today and feel accomplished?
• Will this item help me serve God and my family better?
• Do I have a place for this item?
• Is this item a duplicate of another?
• Have I used this item in the past year?

Depending on your answers to these questions, the items in question may be just the "treasures of Egypt" and need to be purged from your life.

Another application of this verse can be in relation to our activities outside of our relationship to God/spouse/mothering/fathering/household duties. What activities do you do regularly that interfere with God's best for your relation to Him, your family and yourself? Many of these are good things, maybe even church related, but if they are diminishing your personal relationship to God, spouse and family then you need to rethink if they need to be things you should be doing. Sometimes you can still be involved in these things but on a more limited basis so it doesn't interfere with your relationship to God, family and yourself.
This is an area I struggle with, but with God's help and perseverance, I plan to work on this more.