Stuff

Why are we so obsessed with expanding our empire? Why do we constantly seek to add more things to ourselves. the accumulation of "stuff" only tells others that the accumulator has a deep need to be defined by something or known as something other than what they really are. Gucci doesn't change my character but it gives off the perception that I am somehow special or priveleged. Even if I don't have a dime in my pocket or if I am rotten to the core.

Stuff can only transmit information from the one that created it, it cannot transmit information regarding the one that has it. All it can indicate about the person that has it is that they have a particular taste. That's it. It doesn't tell whether they are a good person, whether they love their kids, whether they love themselves...all it says is that the person has a lot of...stuff.

If our stuff could talk, some of it would tell people that we bought it with a credit card and couldn't really afford it. Some of if would tell people that we already said that we were taking it back to the store after we wore it. Some of it would say that you already had three of the same thing and only bought it because someone talked you into it. Very little of the "stuff" that we accumulate is actually necessary.

The issue is not the desire to have nice things, but that often that desire trumps eveyrthing else and causes us to be relentless in the pursuit of...stuff. We have been conditioned by the media to believe that we must match or keep up with what others are doing. We think that we are not living up to the unrealistic standards of the world unless we have tons of...stuff. Why do we torture oursleves and kill ourselves so that we can buy the next best technological marvel...and as soon as we bring it home, another marvel is being unveiled that trumps the one that we just bought? We do it because we don't believe that we can live without having a lot of...stuff.

In reality stuff cannot define us. Stuff cannot determine our lot in life. Stuff cannot even speak one word as to the content of our character. It can only speak of the need to be perceived as something other than what or who we really are. The true measure of a person is not how much we accumulate but how much we are willing to give. Christ (you knew that I was going to take it here) taught this principle to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. He also gave an example that illustrated the desire to accumulate over the desire to be truly fulfilled in Luke 12: 15-21. Why build a bigger barn when we are unable to take anything material into heaven?

In the end, what will the legacy that we leave behind be? Are we going to leave behind a lot of stuff that will eventually rot, break down or become useless? Or do we leave behind a more enduring legacy. One that says that my fulfillment came from God alone. All who subscribe to this mode of thinking will be unmoved by the vascillations caused by societal winds that seek to make us change and transform at every turn. It is reminicent of the Wiz when Richard Pryor was changing the color of the day whenever he felt like it. All it did was confuse people and force them to comply with unrealistic ideals and desires. For them, changing was easy, all they did was change the color of the light that was reflected off of them. For us, it is not that easy.

Therefore, why undergo unnecessary changes that will not profit us? Why try to keep up with the proverbial Joneses? Don't you ever get tired of being told you are not good enough because you don't have enough...stuff? Why not adopt the attitude of the Apostle Paul who said it best in Philippians 4:12 " I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." The next verse is one of the most quoted verses of scripture in the bible..."I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH." We accumulate stuff because we want to believe that the more stuff that we have, the less in need we are. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of the time the "stuff" is being used as a cover-up for a need that is deeper than anything that stuff could fill. No one wants to experience the pain of being in need but "in need" is where Christ is put on display as the sustenance of our very existence! Living a Christ centered life means constantly seeking ways to get closer to Him versus chasing after material gain. Don't seek the "stuff" seek the creator.