by Joanie Butman
Snowbirds are preparing to return north this month. As things start winding down in Florida, everyone is trying to pawn off the contents of their refrigerators. They have a name for the remnants in the fridge: mustgoes. That moniker covers everything in the kitchen that has to be discarded before leaving. It makes for some interesting meals as people get creative depleting their food supply.
The term doesn’t just apply to groceries. Having recently celebrated Easter, it might be an excellent time to rid yourself of all kinds of spiritual mustgoes. A spiritual mustgo is not something you intentionally share with another, but when you have something rotten in your soul it tends to spill over onto those around you whether you like it or not. They are things like shame, bitterness, resentment, anger, selfishness, pride, etc. Anything that interferes with, or takes precedence over, your relationship with God.
My Peloton instructor this morning advised us to “let go of anything that isn’t serving you.” That’s the key to identifying a spiritual mustgo: are you serving it or is it serving you? More often than not, we become slaves to our ‘stuff’ whether it is physical or emotional. So, what's the solution to spiritual mustgoes? You need to clear them out in the same way you dispose of rotting food in your refrigerator. In the spiritual realm, emptying ourselves of ourselves creates sacred space to invite God into. Here’s the prescription: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). It’s a time-tested remedy guaranteed to cure all kinds of spiritual decay.
The following poem describes many of the mustgoes that interfere with our spiritual well-being. It might be worth taking a look at some suggestions for dealing with common spiritual mustgoes. The key to success is replacing the rot with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The Fast Life
Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.
- Author Unknown
Many Christians practice fasting during Lent, but in light of the above poem we should be choosing the ‘fast life’ all year long. Doing a clean sweep of your soul shouldn’t be confined to a 40-day effort. It’s meant to be an ongoing endeavor to honor Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. To choose to deny ourselves in some small way - not to earn God’s love but out of gratitude because we already have it. Jesus made certain of that truth on the cross.
What mustgoes are lingering longer than necessary in your life? Why not choose to surrender them to Christ and supplant them with His extravagant love and mercy? There is no expiration date on those, and you won’t get any complaints when serving them up in healthy portions.