In obedience to a recent suggestion from our insurance agent, I set
about photographing and listing our possessions. I told him it didn’t seem
important, as our things are few and old. But he wanted to talk about
“replacement value.” So I dutifully laid out and cataloged all our worldly
goods. If you haven’t done it, you should. Not for your insurance agent; for
yourself. It’s an eye-opener.
To no one in American culture would we seem affluent, but this girl who
grew up dirt-poor felt rich, rich, rich when thinking of replacement value. At
the same time, I began to feel burdened with “stuff.” How many Phillips
screwdrivers do we really need? (And with all these in the house, why can I not
find the size I need when I want one?) Do I really want to give the storage
space to these fabrics I have had for so long?
I thought about the photos our missionaries to Africa have shown us of
families whose possessions are a one-room home with mud walls, sleeping mats, a
water jug and a cooking pot, and the clothes on their backs. If the lady of the
hut is a Christian, what, of value, do I have that she does not?
Luke 12:13-15 tells us, “Someone in the
crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on
your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions.’”
At that point, Jesus told the parable of the rich man
and his new barns, concluding with, “But God
said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you
have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who
lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ESV
What difference does it make whether our items are many or few, valuable
or worthless, if one's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions?
Some items are irreplaceable, like my mother’s 1950 china cabinet and the
yo-yo doll my grandmother made. But what difference does it make, if one's life does not consist in the
abundance of possessions?
Do I place undue value on my world treasures, compared to my God
riches? Do I even recognize my God riches, or am I so absorbed in my world
riches that I cannot see the valuable ones? Does “Count Your Blessings” turn
into a recitation of “things”? Can I catalog my God riches? Probably not.
Should I focus on things to which I cannot account definable value? Jesus
thinks so.
Some ladies like to “shop ‘til you drop.” Not me; I hate shopping. Some
delight in chasing after yard sales. I did formerly; now I feel I don’t have
room for more stuff. Couponing is a favorite way of acquiring goods for many. I
like the approach of a friend who said, years ago, “I just tell the Lord what I
need and how much I can spend on it, and He brings it to me.” But, regardless
of our methods of spending or saving or getting, these things do not have
nearly the importance we assign them.
Jesus wants us to become rich. His riches are not in our bank accounts,
living rooms, closets or storage sheds. The treasure is in His Word.
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