7 Feb, 2008
Have you taken out the trash?
Inside the Lives of Hoarders
Oprah demonstrates what five tons of garbage looks like - From The Oprah Winfrey Show "Inside the Lives of Hoarders"
From closets overflowing with unworn clothes to boxes brimming with crafts and knickknacks, experts estimate that nearly 6 million Americans have a hoarding problem that affects their quality of life. But what if you had so much stuff, just the trash weighed 75 tons? To put it in perspective, it would take 15 huge dumpsters to hold that much trash. Imagine this amount of junk taking up every room, every hallway and every inch of space in your home. It seems impossible to live this way, but a heartbreaking home video introduced us to a husband and wife nearly buried alive by clutter.
From the outside, Sharyn and Marvin's 3,000-square-foot house looks like a typical American home. Step inside, however, and the foyer has become a narrow passage walled by stockpiles of possessions. The kitchen is drowning in bags and boxes filled with unused items. The family room is unrecognizable, with every piece of furniture covered in heaps of miscellaneous belongings.
Sharyn blames herself for the clutter. "I'm a shopaholic, and I just buy and buy and buy." She describes her home as terrible, uncomfortable and suffocating. Breaking down into tears, Sharyn admits she needs help. "I don't know how I've done this to myself, to my husband, to my family. I don't want them to hate me. If I were to die tomorrow and they were left having to contend with all this stuff, I think they would end up hating me the rest of their lives. I want to be free of the clutter that's taking over my life."
photo & story courtesy lifestyle/msn.com, 2/6/08
Proverbs 15:14 (NLT)
14 A wise person is hungry for knowledge,
while the fool feeds on trash.
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about the importance of what we store in our minds?
Tyndale's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE notes explain:
15:14 What we feed our minds is just as important as what we feed our bodies. The kinds of books we read, the people we talk with, the music we listen to, and the films we watch are all part of our mental diet. Be discerning because what you feed your mind influences your total health and well-being. A strong desire to discover knowledge is a mark of wisdom.
Oprah's guests admit that they have a problem - a big problem - about 75 tons of clutter in their house!
Do we have a similar problem? Are the "things" of this world cluttering our minds? Is our head full of "trash" or are we storing Godly knowledge?
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Let God's Spirit help you take inventory of your house. Get rid of anything that is "trashing" your relationship with God.
- Let God's Spirit help you clean our your mind and heart of any "garbage" that is messing up your intimacy with Christ.
- Make a list of 5 ways you can consistently fill your mind and heart with Godly knowledge and wisdom and then try it for 30 days to see the changes that God brings into your life.
- Whenever you clean up your room or home, or take out the trash, let Jesus remind you to do the same from a spiritual perspective.
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- With your friends and family who need Jesus, use the story about the couple with 75 tons of trash in their home as a conversation starter about getting rid of things we don't need any more. Tell a little bit of your story of life in Christ, by talking about how God has been teaching you to try to get rid of the "clutter" in your life and to focus on what's really important.
- With your friends and family who know Jesus, talk about the need to hold each other accountable to keep the world's "trash" out of your lives.
- As a way to connect with the stories of your neighbors, offer to help them take out the trash if they are elderly or you know they could use a hand.
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