Author Seth Godin introduced me to a new word in his book The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? The word originates from the Cruft Lab, part of the physics department of Harvard. In Cruft Hall, old, discarded, or out-of-date equipment that had been lying about began to be called “cruft.”
Later, redundant, old, or improperly written computer code began to be called cruft. It’s unnecessary, leftover, or just poorly written code that can become useless or even harmful.
Even a good bit of information on the World Wide Web, such as this blog, could be considered cruft over time.
You can easily transpose this thought to other items. That junk drawer with so many miscellaneous objects. That bin of cords to long lost gadgets. That Blackberry that was so essential 20 years ago.
Much of what is in your garage and attic is probably cruft. So many things that at one time seemed to be pretty important but are now just forgotten under a pile of dust bunnies.
Even more crucial to consider, what about well-worn thoughts and habits that get in the way of us moving forward and growing? What about the sins and laziness and selfishness that keep us from being the best version of ourselves for the people around us?
Cruft comes in many forms indeed.
It’s difficult to get rid of cruft. We worry that we will need it someday—that errant cord that goes to, well, something, but we’re not sure what; that old kitchen tool that we’ve had so long but can’t remember when we’ve used it last; that book on the shelf that we haven’t looked at, maybe ever, but who knows when we’ll get a hankering to read it.
The cruft of thoughts, attitudes, and habits can be even harder to rid ourselves of. But sometimes jettisoning that cruft of our thoughts can be crucial to our growth and future.
“The art of moving forward lies in understanding what to leave behind.”
— Seth Godin
Let’s de-cruft our lives—clean it out, ignore it, and replace it with God’s Word and His thoughts about us. Let’s press on and leave the cruft behind.
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
— Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)