Stuff

I have a confession to make. Last week when I said I was going to clean my room, I didn't really clean my room. However, I did get half of it done on Sunday. So there is some progress being made. What I have realized (and not just recently either) is that I have a lot of stuff. I have closets full of stuff. Cabinets full of stuff. A storage closet in the back of my house that is full of stuff. My car? Yeah, there is some stuff in the trunk there too.

We are a society consumed by stuff. Companies pay thousands and millions of dollars for thirty seconds of commercial time just to sell their stuff. How often have you seen a food commercial and though "wow, I wasn't hungry, but now I'm thinking that looks good." Or the latest "beauty" product and thought "that's it! I have to try that!" Another example I have experienced myself is purchasing a new television. At first I was in awe of the size difference, better picture quality, etc. However, after a few weeks I started to gaze longingly at the bigger, better, newer models in the store. Did something suddenly become wrong with my t.v.? No, it's that we are constantly bombarded with messages telling us we need STUFF. There are even businesses (storage units) that make millions of dollars every year and all they do is store our stuff!

One of my favorite television shows is Hoarders. I can't exactly explain my fascination with this show. In ways it motivates me to clean. In other ways it makes me feel better about all my stuff because I think"well, I'm not THAT bad." Sometimes people are overtaken in their homes by trash. Other times it's because of a shopping addiction and they simply run out of places to put all the stuff. Frequently during the clean up process the owners discover their stuff has been infested with bugs, mold, etc. If only we (myself included) took scripture to heart when it comes to our stuff:


"Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:20 NLT


Imagine the decline in security system sales if we no longer stored our treasures here on earth? Until that day comes in our world, I'll start with another trip to donate some of this stuff I've recently uncovered and stay out of Wal-Mart for a while.