Topsy-Turvy Normalcy?

From My Perspective - - -

There was a time when Logic was the expectation and Order/Purpose was the expectation for the ebb and flow of life. But now, Topsy-Turvy has gained cultural traction and it has quelled one’s ability to anticipate the future and to plan accordingly. A question that should be answered by someone pertains to How and When Topsy-Turvy was invited in and allowed to become an accepted lifestyle embraced by many. The American Heritage Dictionary defines Topsy-Turvy as: “with the top downward and the bottom up, or – upside down; In or Into a state of utter disorder or confusion; that which has become inverted.” Roget’s Thesaurus shares that Topsy-Turvy is: “characterized by Physical Confusion; or that which is chaotic, confused, disordered, mixed-up.” One can almost hear another say: “I knew it! Someone opened the door and in came Topsy and Turvy, and nothing’s been the same since…”

If you happen to be one who doesn’t sense or realize the changes that are taking place within our culture and lifestyle – maybe even thinking this is the way it is supposed to be – then you have other issues that require your attention. During 2011, a Television Program that gained a growing audience was: “Hoarders: Buried Alive.” The stated purpose of the program has a simple focus, namely, “Hoarding explores the Psychology behind the compulsion to accumulate and store large quantities of non-essential things.Each episode tells the stories of Hoarders struggling with behavior that has made every day existence unbearable for both them and their loved ones.With the help of expert Therapists and Organizers, The Hoarders will attempt to unlock the key to their obsessions in hope of reclaiming their lives.” A major problem that surfaces is that the individual cannot separate himself/herself from the accumulated stuff and junk. It is painful to observe those who live in the midst of squalor protest that they launder clothing and bathe themselves and their infants even though it is obvious to everyone that it is untrue.

A Reviewer made this assessment: “Hoarders is the best depiction of mental illness on TV today… Hoarders works because you can see mental illness and its effects on screen like never before: in piles of trash, or rotting food…or, in one especially disturbing episode, dozens of dead cats. The two people featured in each episode are usually at some kind of turning point - their relationship is deteriorating, they’re going to be evicted—and so a professional organizer and/or specialist comes in with a cleaning crew to help them deal with what has accumulated over the years.Why can’t the show’s subjects just throw this stuff away?...But the subjects’ mental illness - for which hoarding may just be a symptom - prevents them from being able to do that, which makes it obvious that they aren’t just being stubborn. That frustration is clear in friends and family members, but particularly in the workers who have been hired to help clean up. They can’t understand why it matters that they threw away a piece of broken tile or scraps of paper…”

We need to look at our individual lives and the things that we allow to accumulate in them – the clutter that begins to stack up! Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That being so, why have we allowed for the ‘Topsy-Turvy’ to dominate? Two passages from God’s Word that can serve as a resolve for us: (1) Psalm 119:133 (The Message) “Steady my steps with your Word of promise so nothing malign gets the better of me.” We might say: ‘Keep me from accumulating junk in my life that prevents me from glorifying and enjoying you always. On this passage, Charles Spurgeon suggests: David “was not afraid of being laughed at for living by method and rule, for he saw method and rule to be Divine institutions. He did not aspire to a random life, or envy the free-livers, whose motto is, “Do whatever you like.” He had no lusts to be his own master—he wished in all things to be governed by the superior and all-perfect will of God.(2) I Corinthians 14:40 (NIV) “But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” This needs to be linked with Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV), “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Topsy-Turvy should not be part of one’s life – order and purpose is God’s design and will for His own. Ask the Lord to order your steps and life. Consider these things with me!