Hoarding…have you ever seen a place that’s stacked and piled up with all kinds of ‘stuff’? There is a TV show about it now. ‘Hoarders’ it’s called. I’ve seen this up close and personal….
I remember the rooms being pretty normal, chairs to sit in, tables to eat off of, floor space for children to play games on. Then over a period of time, all of it becomes consumed and overtaken with ‘stuff’. Then the stuff begins to collect layers and layers of dust. ( you just can’t clean piles of ‘stuff’) Some of the family may try to approach the problem, but after their attempts are rejected with reprimands about interfering in personal choice….the hoarding person is allowed to live as they please. Personal choice, free will….God allows us that as well.
I wonder too how people’s lives get so consumed and overtaken with what the Bible calls ‘sin’. Where does it begin? How does someone ever become a murderer? a drug addict? . Wrong choices. Sin. God doesn’t like our choices, but they are ours. He will not over-rule them. Human-kind chose knowledge in the Garden. Knowledge of both good and evil. (‘of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat…or you will die.’ Gen.2:17 )
“Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities have been clearly seen…men are without excuse…they neither glorified Him as God or gave thanks to Him, their thinking became futile and their hearts darkened…therefore God gave them over to the desire of their hearts…to sexual impurity…worshipping and serving created things rather than the Creator…He gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones…men also abandoned natural relations with women ..committing indecent acts with other men…they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of god, so He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done…they know god’s righteous decree that those who do these things deserve death, they continue to do them and even approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:20-32
Sexual sin is just one of a number of areas I could list that begins with one wrong choice. Then, we begin to know the evil of it…and it brings death into our lives. One wrong choice begins the process…unless we allow God to intervene and rescue us from wrong paths. (‘Guard my life and rescue me, let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You.’ Ps.25:20)
Hoarding and turning your home into a trash pile is a process. A life consumed and completely surrendered to sin began somewhere…it was a process. Hoarding can be undone…family can come in and carry all that stuff away and clean house. (‘Rescue me from the mire..do not let me sink..’ Ps. 69:14)
God will allow you to hoard sin in your life. The longer you hoard it, the worse it will get. Call on Him today to come carry all that stuff away and clean house. Like the hoarders…it will be painful to let go of some of that nasty stuff you’ve become involved in. But it’s never too late for Him. He is God.
