Photo by Dim Hou on Unsplash
The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep
Ecclesiastes 5:12 (NIV)
We are trying to do a clean up. We haven’t moved house, so have collected lots of stuff over the last forty years. When the children moved out, they left some of their stuff behind. Then we inherited some more stuff. And we found lots of good bargains at garage sales and by the side of the road.
We’ve got hobbies, and they need stuff. I like to quilt and sew. So I need a mini fabric shop in my sewing room, so that I don’t need to drive to the shops every other day. You may have heard the saying, “She who dies with the most fabric, wins.”
I’ve got so much stuff. It consumes me – keeping it clean, sorted, safe, worrying about it. Have I got enough? I can never have enough stuff. Then I need to replace it to make sure it is the best/up-to-date. Or I can’t find it, so I need to buy another one. I can’t throw anything out, because I might need it some day. Plus, every little thing has sentimental value.
It’s easy to think: My stuff is the most important thing to me; I’d be nothing without my stuff. People leave, friends move away, loved ones stop loving, or die, but I can have my stuff around me to keep me safe.
Contrary to the saying, “He who dies with the most stuff, wins,” God says,
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it
1 Timothy 6:7
Stuff doesn’t matter. God does.
PRAYER: Forgive me, Lord, for loving my possessions more than you. Forgive me for trying to hide my hoarding, or to make light of it. Help me to acknowledge it as the sin that it is. Help me to rely on You for my identity and my value. I pray for those who don’t have stuff; for those who have no bed; for the homeless; and those who are hungry; and cold. Change my heart so that I can be free of my addiction to myself and my stuff. Through your Holy Spirit, enable me to let go of my stuff, and obey your command to care for the poor and needy. Help me to share. “Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,’” Acts 20:35b.
Annalyn
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Do you worry about all your stuff?