“A full wastebasket’s no use to anybody!”
He looks at what I’m doing and chuckles.
“No use to anybody, ” he says as he walks away…
I’m getting rid of paper…
Paper generated by the computer that is supposed to lead us into a paperless world.
Paper that fills filing cabinets…
Paper rising in small mounds on my desk…
Spilling onto the floor.
Paper I don’t need anymore…
But cling to anyway.
The wastebasket is full…
The shredder has reached its capacity…
I dump its contents into a plastic bag…
Annoying little bits of paper fill the air.
“A full wastebasket’s no use to anybody …”
I chuckle as I realize the truth of his statement…
And think…
Maybe a wastebasket isn’t the only thing that’s useless when it’s full…
Could a full soul be just as useless?
A soul filled with memories of sins from which God has already separated us…
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us Psalm 103:12
Sins to which God calls us to die…
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4
Sins which God Himself does not remember…
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25
Sins He has forgotten so that we may become new in His grace…
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
And as a new being in Christ, say with Paul…
…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
3 thoughts on “No Use to Anybody”
In a way he is asking us to forgive and forget. Learn from our mistakes then move on. Live on without sin and shame, guilt and stress. I gather from what you say in your post that God just wants us to give up our bad habits, stop and consider others before we think of hurting others or seeking revenge. It is easier than we think to follow the path to righteousness. For he is all-forgiving. He is urging us to move forward and to live a sinless life. It is easier to keep the peace than stir up trouble. What’s the point in that. Empty your head of negative stuff, empty your heart of hate, empty your soul and open yourself up to a stress free existence. Fill your life, your heart, your soul with the light of goodness and God’s Love, grace and blessings.
Sometimes the load of guilt we carry around can keep up from surrendering to God. (At least I know that’s true for me.) We look at all the sinful things we have done and say, “I’m not good enough”. Of course not! I believe God wants us to stop relying on ourselves and move forward relying on Him and His grace and His goodness and His strength.
So the waste basket is us and the pile of paper is our sins. Some of us carry the guilt around with us BECAUSE we are led to believe by our good religious orders that we are not worthy of forgiveness. Especially here in good catholic Ireland. Especially if one was born in the 50s or 60s in Ireland. This is, i believe where the problem of guilt and the lack of trust in religion stems from. The lack of trust in God also stems from this because the poor unfortunates who were beaten, punished and abused by members of the religious believed they were being punished by God! The majority have this mistaken idea that God is unforgiving and angry all the time. This is where the problem stems from. Oh dear God! No wonder there are so many lost and damaged people in the world who have turned away! I’m sorry but this has…how can an innocent baby who was born as a result of rape or incest be held responsible for its parent’s sin? This baby cannot be guilty of sin! You see this is what i cannot get my head around! Yes yes I know it sounds like I am off the bat, but I am still on the subject of guilt and sin. Can you explain this? Can a baby be baptized given its unfortunate lineage? It’s not the baby’s fault it’s mother was raped. I am still having a problem with guilt and sin in this sense.