Saturday, December 22, 2012

Treasures


“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....... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.......No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Matthew 6:19-24


Treasure Defined
Noun
1)    Wealth and riches, usually hoarded
2)    Any thing or person greatly valued
Verb
1)    To retain carefully or keep in store
2)    To regard or treat as precious
3)    To put away for security or future use


So, everybody knows that God tells us not to store up for ourselves treasure on earth. I personally do not believe this means that God is against his people owning stuff… instead, I am learning that if we pay a great price for our stuff, our stuff begins to control us.

Our STUFF will control our emotions when we jump to anger any time our beloved STUFF is believed to have been damaged. It will steal our peace as we worry about the rust and moths and thieves that are sure to come during this lifetime. It will ruin our ability to be hospitable when our STUFF becomes more important than the people using it.


Consider the following personal examples.


I have bought very few new things for myself during my life. The short list includes my bedroom furniture, each of my children's bedroom furniture, and two rocking chairs.

I have always been the type of person who never really minded if a glass broke, a spill happened, or a stain set in. It just never mattered to me if STUFF didn't stay in perfect condition. I believe in living in my home, not treating it like a museum!

This has been an easy world-view for me to adopt since my house is decorated with furniture from resale shops, junktiques, and things that people have given me. I love it!

I DO believe in being good stewards of the things God has entrusted us with... my things are not riddled with filth or stains; I take care of them the best I can.

That being said, I do NOT believe in obsessing about my STUFF. If a spill happens, I just shrug it off. I know in my heart of hearts that it simply doesn't matter. It can be cleaned (and if a guest is present, it can usually be cleaned after they leave)... if a stain is left behind, it just doesn't matter. When you pay little to nothing for your belongings, it is very easy to let them go.

Oh, but I have been learning the meaning of, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth..."

The very same day Josh and I bought our brand new, expensive bedroom furniture; one of the dressers fell over in the moving truck and caused a huge dent. I was MAD. Mad at whoever secured the dresser in the first place and also mad at whoever was driving. My STUFF had gotten damaged.

A couple years after purchasing that same brand new, expensive bedroom furniture, our husky chewed up the bottoms of three of the four pieces in the set. I also noticed that the foot of the bed was all scratched up where our wiener dogs had made themselves at home jumping on and off our bed to be more comfortable. I was FURIOUS with those animals for ruining my STUFF.

Only a month or so after Micah was born I bought some scented oil for his room. I placed it on his dresser and the next week when I dusted his furniture all of the finish had been taken off of that brand new, expensive dresser where the oil had leaked through the jar I had decorated with. I was livid!

On the other hand, I have a piano that got all banged around when it was moved. I didn't care in the least. Micah has a toy box (my old toy box) that has been slammed shut and used as a crashing sight for his train, and it has never made me cringe. I have a leather couch that Tucker will tinkle on if company gets too loud, and he gets too worried. I have never gotten mad at him because of it (annoyed, maybe! but not mad)...

So, what’s the difference? In the stories where I was so angry about my STUFF getting ruined, my STUFF was more important to me than anything or anyone else at that time.

In the next three examples, my stuff was just not important because I hadn’t paid much for it. In those examples, the movers were more important than my used piano. I saw them straining to bring that heavy thing into my new house. They were trying their hardest to be careful, and I was genuinely just grateful that they had done such hard work for me, and not at all upset that a few bangs had happened in the process.

Micah's joy (and the joy of his little friends who slam the lid of his toy box closed) is more important to me than worrying if that old chest is going to get damaged or scratched. 

My wiener dog, and his worried little heart is more important to me than some old, stupid couch that can easily be cleaned, or just thrown away if it gets ruined.



I have been appalled in the past with my childish behavior regarding my stuff. I believe that Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the gospel without taking a “walking stick, traveler's bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes” because He knows what power our stuff can hold over our hearts. (Luke 9:3 NLT)

We cannot love both God and money. I believe this can easily be adapted to: we cannot love both God and STUFF.