Spring house cleaning is sometimes a necessary evil. If you’re a man and it’s your library, it’s even more difficult, painful even. The process means (among other things) decisions must be made: what to keep, what to toss. I guess that’s the painful process. But if you follow the axiom of an old friend of mine, it should be a lot less painful. He claims that if you haven’t used it in two or more years, get rid of it! As I reviewed some of my notes and materials from classes taught several years ago, I thought to myself, “Easy for him to say!” Granted, some things needed to go. After all, modern research being raised to the art form that it is (Internet access, etc.) much of what was collated and recorded earlier is now out of date, if not inaccurate. But then what is the value of all the hours of previous research, editing, collating, etc.? But alas, as painful as it might be, my friends other axiom still stands: out with the old, in with the new! It seems to me I remember the apostle Paul saying something like that. Did he have spring house cleaning in mind? I doubt it, but for what it’s worth, here’s one of his axioms: But you did not learn Christ in this way…lay aside the old self which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit…and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. “Lay aside the old [and] put on the new…” Actually, Paul is teaching practical theology, not spring house cleaning. You would probably find this text underneath the category of “sanctification” in a Bible dictionary. Accordingly, he would not be talking so much about cleaning things up in your life, as he would be encouraging you to separate yourself from sinful conduct. And then, he would also be encouraging you to separate yourself unto God: put off/put on. Come to think about it, Paul’s doctrine of sanctification is probably more painful than spring house cleaning. Separating myself from things in this world that tease me with the sense of pleasure that only last for a moment. And separating myself unto the things of God that last for a lifetime and eternity as well. Anyone interested in a theological dust rag?