Trying to Downsize?

A friend who is 85+ years old says, “I have enjoyed all my stuff. Now I can easily give most of it away so someone else can enjoy it.”

On the idea of our stuff and what to do with it, Jesus said not to make treasures of anything that can rot, rust or be stolen by thieves. Paul wrote much the same idea:

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4)

Many interpret this that Christians should give away all our possessions and live frugally. I don’t see it quite like that. His words are about my heart and what I seek or treasure, not what I keep and use. However, this is not an easy line to walk. We live in a world full of stuff, much of which no one needs, yet the focus on stuff has made us a nation of consumers. The warning is to people who seldom or never think of eternal things.

This week, people in Greece jumped into the sea to escape the fire that incinerated all their possession and even family members. Some will thank God they are still alive. Others will shake their fist at Him because of all that stuff that was taken away.

As I get older, I’ve noticed an erosion of my sense of possession. Like my octogenarian friend, I don’t care about most of my stuff like I used to. The organizing experts tell you to ‘keep only what you love’ and if I did that, my house would be mostly empty. I am happy to give it away since I will be gone one day and someone else will have it, so why not now?

Yet walking in this world with a loose hand is not easy. I’ve had a long habit of valuing what I possess. Most of it does not wear out quickly and I’ve only been robbed once. Someone took an ice cream pail full of clothespins from my backyard. I was annoyed for years!

Now God is helping me take delight in passing things on, at least those things I don’t need anymore. Doing it earlier was not as easy.

Tozer points to Moses who made a choice earlier in his life. It was partly about stuff like wealth and power vs. the other choice — the uncertainty of following a God who rarely lets us see beyond the next step:

“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24–26)

The world would think Moses a fool, but as Tozer says, the surrender of my heart to materialistic values and to my stuff is a greater calamity than having it all and losing it. I am a child of God and recreated for a higher world, a heavenly place. The ways of this world and its stuff will pass and be gone forever. How sad to pin my hopes on or make my treasure from things that which will not last. Cash, comforts and conveniences are okay to have, but I cannot make them my reason for living.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I feel like the awkward teenage gangling through a growth spurt. I’m in this world but not of it, making spiritual matters a priority rather than anything else. I know this should have been a stronger part of life a long time ago, yet if it takes aging and hindsight to do it, that is better than heading toward the next world trying to pull a U-Haul with me.

Down-sizing the Soul

For many, it seems to be a year to down-size. Women of all ages tell me that getting rid of their excess stuff produces a sense of freedom and lightness that they never would have imagined. Unused and unwanted possessions put a burden on our lives that we don’t realize until that burden is removed.

Sin is like that. Sometimes I’m conscious of it, like when I want to control (instead of trusting God) and pile upon myself the burden of worry. I spend all my time and energy in a mental effort to change things with that burden robbing me of sleep and making me hard to live with. I’ve even toiled to gratify some sinful desire and found that my craving was left unfilled anyway, becoming another burden.

Sin can be an unconscious burden too. For years, I’ve carried frustrations that would not be there if I was obeying God. Once aware of my disobedience, these burdens morphed into guilt, also heavy.

Another weighty burden is the effort to earn God’s blessing. While I know I cannot save myself or earn my salvation, I’ve struggled with trying to please God by being or doing what I thought He wanted. I’ve even used my “good” as a bargaining chip so He would answer my prayers, piling excess responsibility on my soul. More than once, the Lord has said to me, “Get out of My to-do list.”

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)

This verse brings those burdens to mind. God doesn’t want me to carry them. Instead, He explains that His load is lighter by using two words for burden. “Heavy laden” is the Greek word for cargo or shipment, while “my burden” is the word for the invoice.

One of the most challenging results of sinning is the guilt it creates. Guilt makes most people run and hide like Adam and Eve did, toiling to cover themselves and their shame. This shows an understanding of sin’s awful nature and that it deserves punishment, but it does not give the full picture. God forgives sin because of Jesus. Jesus took our punishment by experiencing the wrath of God Himself, for our sakes. Because He died, we can live.

We can also call out this good news to others who carry that same burden…

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22:17)

Sin, if not abandoned, will have consequences. For those who do not know Christ, it is eternal.

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11)

For those of us who do know Christ and have His promise of eternal life, the consequences of sin are in this life. That is, sin heaps on me burdens that I cannot bear. God’s invitation for me is the same: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 (image source)