“Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20).
Mara means “bitter.”
Can you imagine running into an old friend after years apart… and when she calls your name, you reply, “Don’t call me Donna or Diane or David—call me Bitter”?
It’s striking. Uncomfortable, even.
But Naomi’s words reveal something deeper than a moment of grief—they reveal a heart weighed down by bitterness.
And if we’re honest… she’s not the only one who has felt that way.
Bitterness has a way of quietly taking root in our hearts. Sometimes it grows out of real hurt, real loss, real disappointment. But if we allow it to linger, it never stays contained. It spills over—into our attitudes, our relationships, and even our view of God.
That’s why it’s so important to deal with it… and to deal with it biblically.
As I said last week, keeping clutter under control seems to be a battle I’m constantly fighting. And most of us would agree that clutter can quickly make us feel overwhelmed and disorganized. But could there be spiritual clutter in our lives that creates a whole host of problems? Could it lead to a sense of hopelessness and lethargy and could it hinder our relationships with God?
While I’m sure it’s not an exhaustive list, I suggested eight things that I see as spiritual clutter. Today I’m going to talk about ways to rid yourself of that clutter.
Keeping clutter under control seems to be a battle I’m constantly fighting and sometimes losing. As a friend of my husband’s once said, an open surface just seems to invite you to put something on it. It’s easy to set things on the nearest convenient space thinking we’ll deal with them later. Unfortunately, clutter can quickly make us feel overwhelmed and disorganized. In fact, organizational experts will tell you that the minute or two it takes to put things in their proper place can save you a lot of time and energy later. But what about spiritual clutter? Could spiritual clutter lead to a sense of hopelessness and lethargy in our spiritual lives? Worse yet, could it be hindering our relationships with God?
We’ve all seen them or experienced them, blended families with angry, resentful children or teens. And parents who are just trying to “live through it” until the kids are old enough to leave home. In some cases, the children aren’t only angry but are in full-blown rebellion. I don’t have to tell you this falls far short of God’s best for families.How does this happen when couples start out with such high hopes for their marriages and families?
