Cutting The Clutter - Getting The Stuff Out Of Your Eyes

Cutting the Clutter - Getting the Stuff out of Your Eyes

Before you try to keep up with the Joneses, be sure they’re not trying to keep up with you. —Erma Bombeck

COULD THE PEOPLE you watch and measure yourself against be a source of clutter in your life? I think we have too much “stuff” in our eyes.

When you watch the actors on the Golden Globes, what do you see? Women with fabulous frames in gorgeous dresses? Do you feel a bit frumpy lying on the sofa in your faded nightgown and old fuzzy house slippers? Know what I see? I see women who look hungry. Get those girls some mashed potatoes—they’re wasting away!

When you drive through beautiful neighborhoods with perfectly manicured lawns and houses bigger than the Mall of America, what do you see? The end-all, be-all for having “arrived”? I see homes with baggage—too much upkeep and too many rooms to keep straight!

When you watch the other ten-year-old kids running out on the soccer field while your son sits on the bench, what do you see? Potential stars with college scholarships? Are you convinced that your son’s future earning power has been quashed before he hits fifth grade? I see a child whose substance and patience are being formed while sitting on the bench, allowing him to grow into a man of character, not a self-absorbed, “all about me” adult.

When you watch a female coworker make her way up the corporate ladder, what do you see? A woman who seems to get all the breaks? I see a woman who has vision, determination, discipline, and diplomacy to hold her own in the corporate arena.

I think the “stuff” in our eyes and how we perceive life on a day-by-day basis has everything to do with what we compete for. Not if we compete; most people compete on some level for something every day—a tennis match, a 10k run, or to be the first in their company to hit their sales quota. The type of competition I’m referring to is the kind that affects our self-esteem. It’s the competition to be on par with others in order to fulfill one’s self-worth. But those who look to their Creator for validation and significance replace that desperate need to compete with peace.

But the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (Mark 4:19, NASB)

What are you competing for? And when you win—what will be your reward? There’s no earthly tiara or trophy at the end of the game. We all end up in the same place: a pine box with handles.

Set your eyes on the prize.