Thoughtful Moments

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 1, 9 January 1942, Page 2

Thoughtful Moments

(Supplied by the Whakatnne Ministers' Association)

THE CROWDED HOUSE The crowded house is an uneasy house to live in. The tyranny of "things" is a very real tyranny. Tilings have to be cared for, cleaned or polished or otherwise kept in a state of preservation. Therefore the habit of crowding greatly increases the Avork of any house; it also interferes Avith the liberty of the householder, who must manage to> 1 ive and carry on her necessary activities with obstacles all around her. The woman Avho Avi'lingly 1 ives in a crowded house is almost bound to be a fussy woman. She has to be so careful that her things are not damaged, nor stolen, nor allowed to deteriorate.

"Just now"—tills is an extract from a letter—'l am trying to discard old books and boxes and useless things; and to give away every garment not actually needed. But we do get cluttered up with things."

Ah, that is just the point. Most of us do' not "wish to be crowded, we just get cluttered up. Things get into the house, one at a time, and

we are not always as wise as my friend .was when she resolutely discarded everything that seemed to her unnecessary. Yet, what a feeling of spaciousness and liberty wa get when we relieve just one room

of unneeded chairs, and of dust-har-bouring ornaments. Half the work of keeping that room in order is already done, merely by having less ill i t . That house which is one's own personality is particularly liable to become a crowded house. It almost seems that one cannot live for a day without realising how very much —- toe- much—one has of everything. Too manj r thoughts about self. Too man} r thoughts about what other people have done or may do to self. Thoughts concerning what self intends to do, to eat, or to wear. In fact the house is so badly cluttered up with sell's treasures, and sell's pursuits, that some really precious things are bound to be pushed and jostled and cannot be enjoyed . And now let me ask what is the most rare and precious things of all the things which my liouse of life contains? ... I will tell though you already know. The one thing which we cannot possibly afford to be without is the companionship of that Other Who is pledged to live with us in the house till He gives us a better one. His companionship is more precious than any of the trappings that adorn the rooms. More than health, more than zest, more than the general pleasantness of getting on Avith one's job. The inmost spirit is well aware that one moment's, flashing radiance: of His approval is worth an hour of any other kind of praise. And yet, while we acquiesce most heartily in this statement, most of us find ourselves constantly drawn away from close and continued companionship with

OUR SUNDAY MESSAGE

Christ. We are so busy, or so much worried, or so greatly intrigued by our own interests and ambitions, that the "one thing which is so needful get crowded out. Then we find ourselves in the position of one Avho gives house room to a guest, but has no leisure to sit with that guest. No slow, quiet moments to spend in the sort of silence which is only possible between friends . . . Hospitality has been given certainly, but that is a poor substitute for the personal ungrudging intercourse which means the contact of mind with mind; the following of thought by thought, until a bond, is forged and a unity comes into existence. Acquaintances become friends, and friends learn a deeper friendship, solely and simply from being together.

But ways like these take time— and CJme is apt to be another tyranny; another reason why the House of Life gets cluttered up. "Time is precious," so we say, and therefore when an hour or a day has passed we must have something to show for it. Inches added, to' our knitting, pies and cakes in the larder, clean clothes in the airing clipboard—such things prove that we have made a good use of time. But if we get under thraldom even to lawfu 1 . and necessary things, we may find we have blocked up the doorway to peace—with our own restlessness. We cannot, of course, free ourselves from duties. But it is not the- duties which are the cause of overcrowding, but the spirit in which we approach them. The spirit which says: "I don't sec why T should . . mean to get this finished at any cost . . ." "Everybody in our set does it . . "I know I am going to be overtired . . Such thoughts are great lumbering pieces of furniture in the House of Life. They take up considerable space . . . until the whO'lc house becomes in that hateful and loathed condition which we call—stuffy!-

Anyone Who is mistress of a liouse knows that liberty and spaciousness do not ju-st stay in it. They must continually be re-established . . .

If this is necessary for the well-be-ing of a literal house, how much more is it essential in the House of the Soul?

Therefore go through (in your mind) the plans, as far as you know them, for the day. And as you think of them, try to decide whether they are necessary. The Presence in the House is with you as you think these things over. Remember that. And then remember who He is. The government of the House of the Universe rests upon His shoulders . . .

He is, then, well fitted to -counsel you in the ordering of the House of your life. He can impart to you the grace which wil by its tranquillity and quiet beauty enable you to will away the awkward furnishings of your own self-will. So many, many difficulties slip out of existence directly we have to do with the Lord Jesus Christ.