Over the past few weeks, I’ve been slowly putting away all the new stuff we accumulated at Christmas. We were blessed with toys, clothes, new gadgets, food, and a vast array of gifts. Finding a place to put everything in a neat, orderly and yet accessible fashion has been driving me a little crazy!
So, I began to dream about a bigger house. My husband and I talked about our “next home” and wanting another stall on our garage, a bigger finished basement, bigger bedrooms, more square footage, etc. Then, we both found it a bit ironic that we can’t seem to ‘survive’ in a four bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house with three boys. Really!?!?! My husband said, “You know, I grew up with a lot less than this.” Me, too. And, we did just fine!
I immediately felt convicted as this passage came to mind about the “rich fool” in Luke 12:15-21: 15Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Do we need a bigger house? I think that would be like this man wanting to build bigger barns. Instead, we need to get rid of things – give to the poor and those who need stuff that’s just sitting around. I tend to be a hoarder like this man, living in the ‘scarcity’ mentality. But, I need to learn the joy of generosity.
My husband and I cleaned out our office, and we even sold some books that I was storing up ‘in case’ I would need them in the future. The amount of money we made was a sign to me that we were doing the right thing in trying to clean out rather than build up. We are making piles of things to sell, give away and throw out. It is a good feeling to be free from “stuff.” If you’re feeling like your house is stuffed ‘full,’ pray that you’re not becoming like this rich ‘fool.’ Let’s ask God to help us be rich toward Him.
VALGOOD 