Immersed in a sea of brown boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape, I begin to question how and why I have accumulated so much stuff!
I’m sure I misplaced and replaced them over the years but, do I really need twenty flashlights?
The process of packing an entire house has caused me to stop and question whether I have a touch of hoarding mentality, or maybe it's my husband!
Talk about a first-world problem, having so much stuff that you spend DAYS going through everything!
Perhaps, I should be embarrassed or ashamed that I have accumulated rooms full of stuff over the last 20+ years; although, I am confident I am NOT alone.
So, what does the Bible say about our possessions and how we should view them?
Ecclesiastes 5:12-13 says, “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners.”
According to Proverbs 11:28: “Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”
Finally, 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
Ok, wealth hoarded brings about anxiety, sleeplessness, cravings and pangs. Not a very pleasant picture.
The opposite principle would be purging and decluttering.
Remarkably, studies confirm and support the positives associated with the practice of minimalization. The very act of purging or decluttering can be beneficial to our health and well-being in the following ways:
Can be energizing
Reduces stress and anxiety
Reduces relationship and family tensions
Improves sleep
Boosts productivity and creativity
Rids your home of added allergens
Reduces financial pressures (the less you buy, the more $ you have in the bank)
Frees up your schedule- (fewer items to clean & maintain)
If we listen to wise advice, we will embrace the idea that possessions are fleeting and shouldn't be trusted to bring us lasting joy and security. We intuitively know that possessions wear out, fade, break, or can be stolen. We also know that possessions cannot bring us health or eternal life. So, let's stop clinging to them like they truly matter!
Accordingly, we should view possessions from a minimalist mindset seeing them as conveniences and tools that can make our lives better in moderation. It is when we lose sight of their place in our lives that we harm ourselves by putting our trust and happiness into the accumulation of temporal things.
So, let’s purge more than we pack away and trust that God gives all good things in just the right measure!
Good-bye flashlights!
Father, thank you that all good things come from your hands. Help us to see our possessions from the correct mindset- giving us the ability to let go of temporal things that we may be clinging to and replace them with full trust in your goodness. You meet all our needs and you alone are our true source of contentment and happiness.
“For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” ~ 1 Timothy 6:7