Grandpa and the Cluttered Shed

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Grandpa and the Cluttered Shed

by Charles Finney

Grandpa was standing just outside his toolshed. He was looking into an old rustic room attached to a weathered barn. It was full of his working tools and some more stuff. The shelves were full and the floor was full—not an inch to spare. Grandpa said, “You know this place is like most people lives. Cluttered with vices, regrets, desires, failures and accomplishments. One cluttered shed!”

There were books stacked on top of themselves on one shelf. There were thirty to forty of them. I found this amazing because Grandpa could not read. So, why so many books? He replied, “Even though I cannot read writing, I can read pictures. They give me an ideal of how to do my work.”

“The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot” (Proverbs 10:7).

Sitting nearby was an old 1930s tube radio that no longer worked. I asked him why he kept it. He replied that it was to remind him of what he had heard. By listening to old farm radio shows, it provided him with ideas of how to work the fields better.

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” (Psalm 1:5).

There were about twenty-five old empty candy dishes on a secluded shelf. I had to know why he kept them. He said it was to remind him of the sweet words spoken in his life.

“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103)

There was an old water bucket nearby the shelves. It was full, not of water, but of digging tools—shovels, hoes, picks, and even a post hole digger. All in one bucket. Nearby the bucket was a full set of canning jars full of nuts, bolts, washers, and screws. The rest of the shed was full of farming instruments—rakes, plows, floats, and harnesses for the old mule. What a clutter!

Grandpa's plan was noble—simply store things when not being used. His way of storing only led to confusion and clutter. His actions had been direct but meaninglessness to order. Similarly in life, we place things in a way we think

is right, only to find out later that they were confusing and nothing but clutter to our joy and happiness. Without God at the center of one’s life, it can become confused and cluttered.

“And he said to them, take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Grandpa and I spent all day cleaning and rearranging that old shed. Now everything had a place and was in its place—neat and orderly. Life's walk is not to be in clutter and confusion.

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalms 37:23).

Is it time to clean out your shed?