Why not do some spring cleaning for the soul?

Opinion

Why not do some spring cleaning for the soul?

Hopefully our spring cleaning chores have now all been completed, but Rev Ron Skivington suggests that there may be more areas of our lives that need attention

By now, many people will have spring cleaned their homes, maybe moving the furniture to vacuum bits that get done once a year, or tidying kitchen cupboards to get rid of clutter and the things they have held onto for so long they scarcely remember where they came from!
 
Or maybe you are someone who simply likes to hoard and hang onto everything you have bought, been given and simply accumulated over the years, and you almost feel you need to up-size to have enough space to fit it all in?
 
I wonder, have you ever thought about doing a spring clean on yourself? I don’t mean getting rid of your 20-year-old, full of holes, favourite jumper, or having a new hair style, but an inner spring clean
 
Could we do with having a look into our hearts and taking note of what is in them, good and bad? Or should we consider our attitudes and behaviour, reflecting on how we think and speak to or about others, how we treat them? Is it with compassion, care, and kindness, or do we run them down and neglect or disregard them?
 
It would be easy to say “Well, they have done this to me or said that about me so I am just treating them as they treat me”. The number of times that happens must be astronomical and relationships suffer and may fall apart leaving festering wounds
 
You might be thinking “They need to apologise to me first, they need to make the first move, they were the ones who caused this and when and if they do I might consider speaking to them again”
 
Who does holding bitterness and grudges hurt the most? Actually, it is nearly always yourself, possibly in your physical health, but also in good times you are missing out on, friendships that would enhance your wellbeing if only you were talking. That means maybe, just maybe you need to be the bigger person and make the first move!
 
Jesus said “Why look at the speck in someone else’s eye yet ignore the speck in your own” (Matthew 7:3)
 
We are responsible for spring cleaning our own homes and lives - we can’t expect others to do it for us, and they certainly can’t do anything about our inner life. Happy spring cleaning inside and out!
 
 

The image is from pixabay.com.

Rev Ron Skivington is Senior Pastor of Stalham Baptist Church

The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Yarmouth, and are intended to stimulate constructive and good-natured debate between website users

We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted at the bottom of the relevant article. We would ask you to abide by our forum rules and may delete any comments which do not We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here 
Click here to read our forum and comment posting guidelines