Fall Cleaning

October is a time of year for pumpkin spice lattes, beautiful mums, pulling out your favorite hoodie, watching football, and enjoying the fall color come to life. It is also a time for many people to watch a scary movie, visit a haunted attraction, read a Stephen King book, or decorate their house with a spider web. Unfortunately, it seems that embracing the dark side of the month is rising.

 

But is there really any danger in letting the hair on the back of our neck rise a little bit? Many people would say not at all. Even Christ followers can be pretty glib about the dangers of exposing ourselves to images of violence, horror, or even occult activity.

 

For those of us who have dealt with fear at an unhealthy level, it is not a laughing or light matter. The truth is that fear is growing and kids are the ones suffering the most. In 2007, 9.2% of kids had anxiety issues. In 2012, that number rose to 11.6% and after Covid-19, that number exploded to 20.5%. This means that in 2021, one out of every five young people (worldwide) were diagnosed with clinical-level anxiety symptoms. JAMA Pediatrics, Vol. 175, No. 11, 2021.

 

Fear, it appears, is a worldwide epidemic. So how are we supposed to deal with our fears and anxious thoughts? The apostle John gives us the antidote in I John 4:18a “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…”. God’s agape love is the only thing in the universe that will calm our deepest fears. The apostle Paul takes this a step further in Ephesians 5:11 by giving some practical advice. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” It seems clear, then, as Christ followers, that we are commanded not to dabble in anything that is spiritually dark.

 

A good practice every now and then is to conduct what I would call a “spiritual audit”. A spiritual audit is simply taking inventory of what you have in your home and your heart and seeing if they line up with the Lord. King David did this in Psalm 139 when he prayed, “Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24).

 

My encouragement would be to take a few minutes to ask God if there is anything in your home or your personal life that is not honoring to God and then take another minute to listen. God may ask you to remove a streaming subscription that wastes your time. He may ask you to delete an app that is “iffy” or throw away an old book that is spiritually dark. God may go further and ask you to apologize to someone you’ve offended, or begin meeting with an accountability partner, or schedule some time with a counselor. A little “fall cleaning” in our lives can be a very healthy thing!

 

Whatever God reveals, let us be obedient to His will for ourselves and our families. May we, as King David, pray with sincerity, “Create in me a pure heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10).

 

David Landis
Superintendent