Hoard the Right Things

“And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

We’re in the process of packing to move to a new house. In the midst of packing the other night, I came to this conclusion: I have way too many things.

For four hours I sat in one room organizing, cleaning, and stacking the oddest assortment of random belongings…

Two massive totes of books that I’ve already read, four rodent cages (minus the rodents), random papers which mean nothing, and instruction manuals for equipment that I’ve operated for years.

I found rarely-worn shoes, never-worn clothes, and extra bedding. Knick-knacks, seasonal decorations, and wall art which has seen better days.

I managed to throw out a small bag of garbage, which felt great. I like throwing things away and giving things away.

Not once did I look at all of the things piled in that room and rub my hands together with glee at such a collection of stuff…the whole pile was kind of annoying. What’s the point of moving things to the next house just to gather dust for years on end?

But I found two things of great value in that pile of clutter:

1. In an old box there was a pile of pictures of my lovely wife in her college days. Those were the years way before we ever met each other. Those pictures of her and her family are priceless, especially since her father just passed away and the loss is still fresh on our minds.
2. In a stack of old papers I found a couple of laminated charts on major religions of the world. I forgot that I had those charts…they’re an invaluable tool in ministry and witnessing to people. I “nerded out” on those for a while, then set them aside to reference later.

I’ve moved so much stuff through my life, carrying it from place to place. Now I’m understanding that the most valuable things in life are what move me toward the finish line in life: faith, family, and Godly friendships.

Those are the valuable things I want to hoard moving forward in life. Those are the things that will hold their value for all of eternity.