FAITHdare #22: Unburying Ourselves

A year ago yesterday, my dad went to be with Jesus. And yesterday, as I was reflecting on everything my dad taught me, I was reminded of his other-worldly perspective. I'll never forget coming home one day to hear about how my dad's wallet had been stolen out of his car. His response? "Whoever stole it must have needed it more than I did!" Oh the joy he embodied as he lived with so little tying him to this world.

You might be wondering why, after spending a month of FAITHdare focusing on money, we are spending the next month on possessions. Pretty much the same thing, right? Maybe. Sort of. What I want to point us to, though, is the reality that our relationship to our things could be very indicative of our place between this world and the next.

Luke 12:15-31 (NIV)

¹⁵Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

¹⁶And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He 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 all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things 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 anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

We live such complex lives, filled with busyness and THINGS. We seem to be obsessed with getting MORE, with storing up "goods" in bigger "barns." Are we also storing up eternal treasures?

I find that the more I have, the tighter I cling to it all. Remember this? I have to admit there have been days this summer when I have thought about how nice it would be to "freshen" my wardrobe. But they have been few and far between, and vastly overwhelmed by days where I am consciously and unconsciously grateful for how much simpler my life is without a closet running over with new outfits and accessories.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus commanded his disciples to take nothing with them when he sent them out (Mt. 10:9-10)? Have you ever gone on a vacation without packing ahead of time? Sure, you may not be as "comfortable" without your entire bathroom cabinet with you, but you sure have less to worry about. What if we similarly uncluttered our lives? Would we have more time for things of eternal value?

What if we had only one set of dishes per person in our families? Maybe more time could be spent in family conversation around the table {instead of in the kitchen dealing with load after load of dishes}.

What if we lived with fewer clothes? Maybe we could spend more time serving our neighbor {instead of washing and sorting through loads and loads of laundry}.

What if we had fewer television sets and media games? Maybe we could spend more time instructing our children about the things of God {instead of sitting for hours in front of a screen}.

What if we just plain had LESS STUFF? Maybe we could use more time seeking out the heart of God {instead of dusting, cleaning, tripping over, stressing about, looking for, breaking up fights over, and coveting THINGS that won't last anyway}.

Have you ever thought about your stuff with a different perspective? Ever thought about living with half of what you've got, and what that would do to your eternal perspective? Have you ever taken inventory of all that is standing between you and seeing eternity? Maybe it's time.

FAITHdare #22:

Take a walk through your living place, noticing all of your things. What do you have that you are afraid to get rid of? What do you have that you forgot was even there? What are you "storing up" that could be used instead for kingdom purposes? Take action as you feel led.