I have been noticing recently how much my stuff can have a negative effect on my life. The minimalism movement is big right now and it boasts about the benefits of getting rid of stuff and carrying a lighter load. I like the idea of purging everything and only having the basics because less stuff is easier to manage. I am kind of a sentimentalist and will hold onto everything if I have a positive memory or it evokes a positive emotion in me. My house is generally more cluttered and it is often a distraction to me and harder to work in.
Aside from the secular view of minimalism and the positive benefits that can come from purging my junk, I can see how holding onto stuff tears me away from my Creator. I get so busy and distracted shuffling my stuff that I forget that I am here to glorify God.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24
I see the effects of stuff in my children’s lives as well. They are constantly wanting to get little trinkets and toys and fill up their rooms with them. They enjoy these things for the same reason that I enjoy my stuff. Many times they will have a positive memory or someone they love gave it to them. The problem is that these little trinkets are not built to last. They break very easily or get lost easily. There are so many times when they come back from somewhere and there are tears because they can’t find their little toy or the toy broke five minutes after they received it. Even if the toy isn’t lost or broken, the luster wears off all too soon and then they are left searching for the next thing to fill them up.
I will often think that collecting this stuff will satisfy me and it just doesn’t. I am placing my hope in the wrong thing. I am placing my hope in stuff. When I read through the Old Testament and see people worshiping something made by man’s hands, I am quick to scoff at them and think they are so silly. If I could take a step back and look at today, that is exactly what all the stuff I am filling up my life with is. The stuff in my life is an idol just as much as a golden calf is. No, I am not necessarily bowing down and worshiping it; but I am worshiping it. I am putting hope, trust, and happiness in an object that will not satisfy.
The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.” -Johnathan Edwards
How much time I waste trying to fill myself up with things of this earth that ultimately will not satisfy. Satan has a strong foothold on many of us because he wants us to be distracted from serving our true purpose which is to glorify our Creator and to spread the gospel message to the ends of the earth. We should be fervently praying, soaking in God’s Word, and working to disciple others.
“Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob, you have not wearied yourself for me, O Israel.” Isaiah 43:22
The Solution
When I begin to recognize that I am idolizing stuff in my life, what should I do?
1.) Repent– As soon as I recognize that I am practicing idolatry with my stuff I can repent and ask God to forgive me.
2.) Prayer– I need to ask God to help me to set my mind on things that are above and not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2)
3.) Soak in God’s Word– The more we read God’s Word, the more we understand His love for us and His plan for our lives. His plan is not to collect as much stuff as we can, His plan is to glorify Him and spread His Word.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” Matthew 28:18-20
4.) Feeling true happiness that comes from God rather than false happiness that comes from the world. – God’s happiness is a peace that lasts and is rooted in Him no matter what our circumstances are. Happiness from the world is fleeting and fickle and is highly dependent on our current circumstances. The more we glorify God with our lives, the more joy we will feel in Him.
Lord,
I pray that you would help me to spend my life worshiping and glorifying you. I pray that you would keep my eyes fixed on you and your great commission. I pray that the joy I receive from following you would be evident and will pour out to encourage others.
Amen