It's Trash Day

At my house, Thursdays are trash day. Oddly, my thoughts of organizing my week revolve around trash day; don’t ask me why, I do not have a clue. Maybe because it comes near the end of the work week, so it marks a mental change of pace, I don’t know.

But, this Thursday I had a thought I’d like to share. Trash days are action days. We go around emptying the cans from the various rooms so my Honey can take the big yard can down to the street. We actively work to rid our homes and lives of trash. We do not have to think about it, it’s a habit of necessity, we just do it. Things can get messy and stinky if we don’t.

This brought to mind the question, why don’t we make a habit of routinely ridding our minds and thoughts and lives of messy, stinking thinking? Everyone dislikes taking out the trash but we do it because we do not want to live with the trash in our homes. So, doesn’t it make sense that we take out the trash encumbering our thought life, as well? The trick, as I see it, is to make a point of taking action, taking out the trash.

As we grow in Christ, reading the Bible and learning from His example, we make changes in our thinking. We seek to please Him and want to be more like Him. Yet, still we have those thoughts, habits and mindsets that are not of Him. I am suggesting that we make a point, on trash day, to pick one of those things and purpose to dispose of it. Sound silly? Let me give you an example.

I was doing my morning routine of dressing, face and hair. As I put on my moisturizer, I had a thought about how old I look. I noticed all the lines, sags and imperfections I saw looking back at me. This, Friends, is classic stinking thinking. I was judging my own face by worldly standards. My face, although sculptured by God, was viewed and judged as not good enough. WOW, where do I get off thinking such thoughts?! This is trashy thinking. Seriously, can the eternal God really look at me and see an ‘old’ face? In His big picture, my 57 years is less than a blink of an eye, yet I have the audacity to call myself old and look upon the face the He gave me with less appreciation. I’ve got some nerve!

Another example, the news has repeatedly shown scenes of gangs of young people mobbing into convenience stores and stealing everything they can get their hands on. A spirit of fear is generated by these scenes. Not all young people are doing this, yet a cloud of suspicion hangs over any group moving in mass. This is stinking thinking. We are judging young people, races and cultures by an unruly few. This is prejudiced thinking.

It’s time to take out the trash! I propose on trash day, whatever day yours is, we pick one thing on which to focus for the next week. We must first repent and ask for forgiveness for our stinking thinking. Read scripture on whatever it may be. If you are reading this, you have access to a computer. Google scripture on the trash you are putting out and faithfully pray for a renewed mind in that area. A steady diet of reading scripture will change hearts. Scripture says ‘out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.’ So, what will it be with us? What is the abundance of our heart?

Picture the heart as a vessel—a bowl—and things are poured into the heart. At a certain point, the vessel will overflow, and abundance will come out of it. What comes out of our heart—this bowl or vessel—will expose the characteristics of the heart.

When we pour information into our minds, we process it. For a while, it stays in the bowl, as it were, and becomes mixed with what has been put there before. Our minds work on it for a while, and over time, it begins to gel into certain ideas. Once our minds are full, ideas break out in words, plans, and behaviors. Evil thoughts within, evil speech and/or works without. Or, we can put it the other way around—godly, kind, Christ-like thoughts within, godly, kind, Christ-like speech and/or works without.

It’s time to put out the trash! It didn’t accumulate overnight and we can’t rid ourselves of it overnight but we have to start taking action.Trash day has a whole new meaning to me.