A few years ago, when I was the women’s ministry director at a mega church, I made the offhand comment that I had the gift of multitasking. A woman approached me after the session and informed me that multitasking is a sin. If you’re a mom, I imagine you’re in my pool of sinners too. The rest of you might be too holy at this point to admit to the “sin” of multitasking, but the odds are that a decade into this uncomfortable conversation, none of us are innocent of the sin of multitasking.
If we as an American culture are guilty of anything, it’s that we are multitaskers of ideas and thoughts. Gone are the days where we can focus on one task or one idea at a time and come up with a logical conclusion. We can blame Steve Jobs, or we can take responsibility for our own rabid need for constant entertainment, but if there’s one thing that the internet has stolen from us, it’s our focus.
American culture has become too cluttered for true discipleship. We need to repent – not just in the kind where we walk up an aisle and vow to make things better, but in the intentional and strategic kind of repentance that results in the freedom that God has preordained for us to live with in Christ.
It occurred to me recently that we don’t have to allow social media to sabotage our souls. We don’t have to resign ourselves to live with scattered brains and the inability to read more than 140 characters at a time. It is indeed still possible to read through your Bible in a year. It is possible to practice the art of meditating on Scripture for big chunks of time. We are not victims to a lifetime of conspiracy news stories and pictorial depictions of complex ideas made simple for Instagram and TikTok. We can indeed still live if the government forgoes TikTok.
God has given us a brain and if we need to repent of anything, it’s not the sin of multitasking but the sin of allowing the clutter of a lazy culture to invade our minds. This is warfare.
On any given day I am weighed down by the number of Netflix shows lined up in my queue waiting to be watched, and the list of books sitting idle in my kindle waiting to be read, and the background noise of Instagram messages and Facebook comments that need to be answered, and the slew of news articles waiting to be read.
This winter I have spent the bulk of my time in a modest 2-bedroom condo in Florida. I have a tenth of the clothes here than I have in my Chicago home. I have observed that it is entirely livable, even freeing, to live with less stuff. I finally have margin to breathe. There is space to think about whether another pair of shoes is even needed (believe me – it’s not!).
When I wrote my latest trade book Don’t Tell Anyone You’re Reading This I didn’t realize that I had set out on decluttering a whole lot of nonsense from my life: In one 40,000 word document I decluttered my sinful past, my shameful habits, my sinful decisions, my lame excuses, and my futile formulas that have kept me from actually changing. The only thing I was left with by the end of the book was a healthier relationship with Jesus.
As I’ve created more margin to listen to the Holy Spirit in my life, I keep coming back to the concept of Sabbath. While Sabbath as a religious practice carries many Old Testament legalistic ramifications, the gift of Sabbath that God gave us before the fall of man continues to be a gift He offers to us today. While true rest is ultimately only found in the person of Jesus Christ, God gave us rest even before Eve ate the fruit in the garden. Sabbath is a gift God gives the people He loves. We don’t need to do everything all of the time. There is a God who loves us enough to meet all of our needs. There is room to do less… to rest, to live simply, to stop and wait, to speak less and listen more. There is reason to declutter.
Freedom is found in a life that is decluttered, but this kind of life doesn’t happen magically. It takes intentional planning. I’ve been meeting with a spiritual director long enough to tell you that you can agree that you need to make a change in your life, but it’s not until you actually make a plan and follow through with it that that idea becomes more than wishful thinking.
It’s because of how firmly I believe in “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” and in “be still and know that I am God” that our team at Living With Power has created an intentional and strategic plan to help you declutter. We believe in this stuff. I have seen it work in my life. This is the path of true discipleship.
People often ask me how I got from the point of deconstructing to the place I am today – stronger in faith than ever. It’s because over time I simplified my life and held on to the spiritual practices that have helped me think more clearly.
Angst is born out of busyness. Spiritual claustrophobia is created in an atmosphere of multitasking. While I don’t believe it’s a sin to multitask (I’m actually watching a cardinal as I type these words) I do believe that we’ve been invited to a richer life than we’ve settled for.
Which brings me to you.
What are some of the things that you need to declutter in order to make room for joy in your life? What needs to be dropped in order to make space for peace? Are you struggling hearing God’s voice? My hunch is that you need to declutter some of the nonsense in your life.
It’s time to let go of the expected busyness that has become symbolic of a full life in our culture and embrace the Jesus way.
Will you let us help you do that? This is the reason we’ve created the spiritual roadmap. It’s not about adding more things to your life. It’s about thinking through how to do less and focus more. It's about fighting the spiritual battle for your souls. It’s about reclaiming your focus and offering your heart back to God.
I know it’s not easy to make a change. It takes time. It takes a community of people who are willing to stand around you and help you make it one step closer to Jesus.
Will you let me be part of that community with you?
If you missed the live Zoom session on Monday March 18th on What Stands in the Way of Our Closer Walk with God, and would like to watch the recording, email info@livingwithpower.org and we’ll send you the recording.
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