Stuff

Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
~ Matthew 6:19-21

I've been cleaning out my house a lot over the last month in preparation for a new roommate. I'm excited that I'll have somebody else living here and can't wait for all the crazy adventures that are certain to occur as this house goes from being a relatively quiet abode to being an open door invitation to many friends! I can't wait!

However, the process of preparing for her arrival has made me realize something. I have too much stuff!!! I'm totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that I've accumulated over the years and truthfully, it embarrasses me quite a bit. The thing is, all of the things makes it look like my life is centered around accumulating stuff. I'd like to say that there's no way that's true - that my focus is on God and the things of God but the verses above are convicting to me. If it's really true that God is first, then why have I spent so much money on stuff over the last decades?

I would say that over the past year I've become more deliberate in this area - spending less on random stuff and really thinking through purchases but I see that there is more progress to be made. Here's the funny thing though, as I'm sorting through all the stuff and deciding what to throw out and what to donate, I realized that I would give up all the stuff for some very intangible things in life. The truth is that at this point in my life, as I look at all the stuff, I realize that I would give it up in an instant for things like friends and family, the salvation of those I love who are lost, and the ability to follow Christ wherever He leads.

I'm not saying that stuff isn't nice and that I don't appreciate a home that really feels like home but I see that I have too much and I'm going to remedy that because I am realizing that most of it just has very little importance to me when compared to other things.

This is an interesting journey...one I've been on for a while. We'll see where it ends up but at the culmination of all my days I don't want someone to walk in my home and define me by the sheer quantity of stuff that I've amassed. I want to eliminate the excess in my life and in doing so, allow God to train my heart to treasure the immeasurable heavenly things over the tangible earthly goods.

Prayer Challenge:
Please continue to pray for the team members who are returning even now from the Amazon. Pray that God will use this last day of travel to speak to their hearts and challenge them as they come back to their everyday lives. Find a prayer calendar here!