(it will take time, but it is free)
As I was working out,
I thought about how nice it is to have an orderly workout area.
Then I thought about how much easier it is to keep an area straight, rather than having to straighten it.
Then I thought how much better to never let your area get cluttered in the first place.
Then I applied the same thought to the entire human existence.
And then... I viewed it all from a "defragging" point of view.
Then I said, "I better finish this movement and this routine and then think about the idea of DEFRAGGING OUR LIFE.
So, here I am.
Our computers are always picking up things that slow them down. I am not referring to viruses, but cookies, old files, parts of old files and a number of other things. In order for our computers to work efficiently, we need to run a program that finds and then eliminates the extraneous bits of information (fragments) and aligns the pertinent bits of information. This action is called DEFRAGGING.
Our lives are like this. In the normal events of life we pick up things along the way that either become broken or obsolete or just unnecessary. By carrying these things with us we burden ourselves and strain our resources. From time to time we have to "clean house" (or the garage, if we have a couple of young boys we can force into service). This leads to evaluation, separation and elimination (which some of us have a really hard time with, hehehe).
Our spiritual lives are like this also. The Christian picks up things along the path of life that are not necessarily sinful, but eventually they become burdensome. Like computer viruses, sin needs to be dealt with immediately or there is the threat of a complete shutdown. However, the bits of clutter may be the leftovers of something good from the past, which has been broken (relationships) or has become obsolete (when I became a man I put away childish things), and it impairs the effectiveness of our lives. This is a weight that needs to be set aside (He. 12:1).
Christians need to walk in the light and thus avoid sin (lead us not into temptation). If a Christian yields to sin he needs to immediately repent (we have an advocate). But even when we walk in the light we are going to pick up things that eventually need to be eliminated from our lives. It is better to have a scheduled defragging than to wait for a major defragging. The longer we allow the extraneous things to hang on, the more they interfere with the essentials of victorious living.
The Biblical model for this is that Jesus cleanses and keeps clean the surrendered heart (2 Co. 7:1; Ja. 4:8; 1 Jn. 1:7). Jesus leads us away from sin (Mt. 6:13; 1 Co. 10:13), but we are all affected by the sinful world around us, and we need the continual cleansing and deliverance of Christ (Jn. 13:10; 1 Jn 1:9). There are times when we need to lay aside the things that have become excess baggage in our spiritual journey. So, He cleanses, keeps, restores, and upgrades us as we yield to Him.
Don't hesitate to be saved from the virus of sin, cleansed from the broken and obsolete bits of our past, and have our priorities aligned and upgraded, by going from faith to faith, strength to strength, grace to grace and light to light..
Here is an idea concerning spiritual defragging.
One way God may help people to defrag is to meet with spiritual leaders and ask them for their input.
Another way is to have a small group meeting, where spiritual leaders help others examine their own lives and discuss the things that are extraneous and burdensome in the Christian life.
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