Have you ever gotten to a stage in your life where you had to deal with piles of stuff? I think some people avoid piles through diligent and patience daily efforts, but I don't know anyone like that. Some days, you just face a lot of piles of stuff.
I hate piles of stuff. Mostly, I hate dealing with them. They are always things that I would already have dealt with if they were either important or interesting, but they are neither. They are necessary and dull. They are the usual daily accumulation of junk in my life. Bills, of course, are a major part of the piles, but so are magazines I don't really want to read and calls I don't want to return and stuff I just don't want to file or throw away.
Our lives are filled with these necessary and dull things. We avoid them at our own risk. If I do not pay the bills quickly, they will accumulate late fees. If I do not read the magazine now, soon I will have two of them piled up. If I do not get through with filing or throwing away, the piles will get larger. But I would still rather do something else. Anything else. I can always do this pile tomorrow.
But, I know this is not really true nor really wise. "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." Prov. 27:1. I am not to say to myself that I can put something off until tomorrow, because I do not know what will happen tomorrow. I need to get it done today.
So, I end up in the midst of a problem. I know what I ought to do and I do not want to do it. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It pretty well describes the struggle we all have with what God tells us and what we want. We know He is right, but we have our own desires as well.
So, my pile, in that sense, is a parable. It is a reminder that I am still not who I ought to be. It is a reminder that God expects much more of me than I expect of myself. It reminds me of so many things that I, too often, prefer to forget.
It's Monday and I am looking at the pile on my desk. And thinking.
I hate piles of stuff. Mostly, I hate dealing with them. They are always things that I would already have dealt with if they were either important or interesting, but they are neither. They are necessary and dull. They are the usual daily accumulation of junk in my life. Bills, of course, are a major part of the piles, but so are magazines I don't really want to read and calls I don't want to return and stuff I just don't want to file or throw away.
Our lives are filled with these necessary and dull things. We avoid them at our own risk. If I do not pay the bills quickly, they will accumulate late fees. If I do not read the magazine now, soon I will have two of them piled up. If I do not get through with filing or throwing away, the piles will get larger. But I would still rather do something else. Anything else. I can always do this pile tomorrow.
But, I know this is not really true nor really wise. "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." Prov. 27:1. I am not to say to myself that I can put something off until tomorrow, because I do not know what will happen tomorrow. I need to get it done today.
So, I end up in the midst of a problem. I know what I ought to do and I do not want to do it. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It pretty well describes the struggle we all have with what God tells us and what we want. We know He is right, but we have our own desires as well.
So, my pile, in that sense, is a parable. It is a reminder that I am still not who I ought to be. It is a reminder that God expects much more of me than I expect of myself. It reminds me of so many things that I, too often, prefer to forget.
It's Monday and I am looking at the pile on my desk. And thinking.