Cleaning the files

Due to my recent search of our files, I decided to purge them of excess stuff. I love my shredder, but I guess I got too carried away last night, because it got so hot it shut itself off. Boy did I find lots to shred. But doing so makes me nervous, too. What if I shred something I wish I have kept. That will be worse than just losing it.
So Jon and I have been sorting stuff before shredding. His Mom used to do that endlessly it seemed, except she never threw away anything. Just re-sorted it. I try to conquer the mail as soon as it comes in the house. Sort, shred, recycle, or file it ASAP. My old boss said that if you put a red mark on each item that you touched, each time you touched it, the papers would look like they had measles.
I read a story recently about a man who had a hard time throwing things away. He finally told his secretary she could dispose of old useless material. He had reluctantly agreed, but said “ Be sure to make a copy of even thing before you throw is away!”
We laugh at that but that is the way some believers handle their sin. They know that Christ has forgiven them by paying the penalty for their sin but they can’t let go of the guilt. They seem to have copies of their sin in their minds, where it continues to haunt them. How foolish! Paul challenges us to forget what lies behind. It is forgiven and God will never bring it up to us again. Why should we continue to bring it up to ourselves?