Today's "thought" is at the same time interesting, intriguing and convicting. It is a critique on our culture, and upon us at the same time. It is worth reading simply because it's true, and the truth of it should make us do some inner reflection. It may even cause us to make some healthy changes or do some cleaning out. Above all it should make us consider what's important, reevaluate our priorities, and consider how we could better use our resources in a world with much so much need.
It comes from John Ortberg's book (written with a somewhat satirical flair) "When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box." It is available in shortened form in, "You Can't Take It With You." Enjoy.
Stuff,
Stuff and More Stuff
"We
all have stuff. We see it, want it, buy it, display it, insure it, and compare
it with other people's stuff. We talk about whether or not they have too
much stuff; we envy or pass judgment on other people's collections of
stuff. We collect our own little pile of stuff. We imagine that if
that pile got big enough, we would feel successful or secure. That's how you
keep score in Monopoly, and that's how our culture generally keeps score as
well. You get a large house, then you have to get stuff to put in it...
There
are now more than 30,000 self-storage facilities in the country offering
over a billion square feet for people to store their stuff. [That was in 2009
when the book was written. Today in 2019 it is estimated there are 52,000
and close to 2 billion square feet and growing!] In the 1960's
this industry did not exist. We now spend $12 billion a year [in 2018 it was $38
billion a year] just to pay someone
to store our extra stuff! It's larger than the music industry.
Psychologist Paul Pearsall comments on people finding it difficult to give
their stuff away: "Many people can't bring themselves to get rid of any of
their stuff. You may require a 'closet exorcist.' A trusted friend can
help prevent the 're-stuffing phenomena.' Re-stuffing happens when, in
the process of cleaning out closets and drawers, we are somehow stimulated to
acquire new stuff..."
Some
people have a gift for acquiring stuff. Not long ago I took my daughter to a
place called Hearst Castle. William Randolph Hearst was a
"stuffaholic." He had 3,500-year-old Egyptian statues, medieval
Flemish tapestries, and centuries-old hand-carved ceilings, and some of the
greatest work of art of all time. Hearst built a house of 72,000 square feet to
put his stuff in. He acquired property for his house -- 265,000 acres. He
originally owned 50 miles of California coastline. He collected stuff for
eighty-five years. Then you know what he did? He died. Now people
go through Hearst's house by the thousands. They all say the same thing:
"Wow, he sure had a lot of stuff." People go through life, get
stuff, and then they die -- leaving all their stuff behind. What happens
to it? The kids argue over it. The kids -- who haven't died yet, who are
really just pre-dead people -- go over to their parents house. They pick
through their parents old stuff like vultures, deciding which stuff they want
to take to their houses. They say to themselves, "Now this is my
stuff." Then they die and some new vultures come for it.
People
come and go. Nations go to war over stuff, families are split apart because of
stuff. Husbands and wives argue about stuff more than any other single
issue. Prisons are full of street thugs and CEO's who committed crimes to
acquire stuff. [Some people will even kill others for their stuff.]
Why? It's only stuff. Houses and hotels are the crowning jewels in
Monopoly. But the moment the game ends they go back in the box. So it is with
all our stuff. Christ said, "Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and
rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:20)....
So
Jesus says it is wise to store up treasure in what's eternal -- God and
people. To an adult, it's ironic when a two-year-old says,
"Mine." Adults know that two-year-olds don't earn any of their
stuff. It is all provided for them. It is a gift from someone much
larger and wiser than they. They don't even generally take very good care
of it. Nevertheless, two-year-olds get extremely attached to their
stuff. If someone tries to take something, that item suddenly becomes
their favorite stuff. Two-year-olds can be so deluded, can't
they?"
As
Christians we need to pause every so often and consider where our values and
priorities come from. Do they come from Christ, or do we get them from
our culture? And if (or when) they are in conflict with each other, which
takes precedence in dictating our actions and habits? Do we heed the
voice of culture over Christ, or the voice of Christ over culture?
Which do you personally follow and obey?
It
is worth considering what Jesus would have to say about the thousands upon
thousands of storage facilities in our country, and the billions upon billions
of dollars spent just to store the excess stuff we don't use or have room for
in our houses. What might he say about that $38 billion spent each year
simply storing excess stuff (an average of $88.00 per month per unit)?
Actually, Jesus already spoke quite clearly on that subject in Matthew
6:20. So, we don't need to ask his opinion, we already know what that
is. So what we do need to ask him is what we should do about all our
stuff in light of what he says. How should we respond? Do we really need all
the stuff we have? How could the money spent storing it be better
spent on "storing up treasures in heaven"? How could it be
better used in the service of God's kingdom or relieving the plight of people
who have so little? In light of the Jesus we know from Scripture, it is
at least worth asking.
And
I know that by now someone is probably thinking, "Don't get
legalistic on us, Pastor Jeff." I find that's a common
response whenever what we believe or practice appears to be in conflict with
what Jesus taught. We pull out the"legalistic" card
to try and shut down such questions or suggestions. Yet, isn't the goal of our
lives to follow the teachings of Jesus more closely. The Jesus who often
turns the values of the world upside down. And in this case, the Jesus
who, if He did have stuff, had very little, since Scripture tells us he had no
house (or storage unit) to store it in (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58).
It
is true that Scripture does not forbid us from owning things, and there is the
ever-present need for housing and shelter and some of the things that make life
in it functional. But it is at least worth asking, "At what
point we violate Jesus' clear instruction not to 'store up for ourselves
treasures on earth'"?
Is
it time to take a trip to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop?
Is
there someone in real need who could use something we simply have stuffed away
in our closet, attic, cellar, garage or storage unit?
How
can we turn an unused "earthly treasure" into a "treasure in
heaven"? Can we break free from it's hold on us and get rid of some
stuff without re-stuffing?
I
don't know about you, but I do know I need to unstuff some of my stuff without
re-stuffing -- and bless someone else in the process. And not just once,
but as an ongoing habit, lest that stuff comes to have too much of a hold on
me, and dictate my attitudes and choices more than the words of the One I have
come to call my Lord.
Living
in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff
