Several years ago, there was a building right here on the corner of T and 87th (down the street from our church). The place had a wall made out of plywood. Inside were numerous sheds and a quite large, albeit dilapidated, house. Inside the house lived one old man. After he died, the family decided to have an estate sale, to clear the place out. I went because word was that he had lots of musical instruments; and did he ever. Every room was filled with various different things. One was full of typewriters, another full of TV’s and another, musical instruments. Outside, all the sheds will packed with machinery of all kinds for wood working and metal working. And when I say full, I mean that they had to drag stuff out into the open just to make enough room to walk through the ‘stuff’. This guy had a lot of stuff and had clearly been collecting it his entire life.
When someone has this much stuff, it is safe to say that they do not need it all, because there is no way that he was possibly using it all. Not even close. This guy’s life was dedicated to his stuff and for what? For a glorified garage sale? Jesus said, “…a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12.15). The Contemporary English Version translates it this way, “Owning a lot of things won’t make your life safe.” And isn’t this what we do? We want to be safe, satiated, provided for, so we get all the right ‘stuff’.
Stuff in the World
Here is the world view of stuff. J. Paul Getty, “The best things in life…are things.” The idea here is that the world only knows how to please itself through what the world has to offer. We can only try to meet this need for safety and provision with stuff. But the Bible calls this desire for stuff coveting. Coveting is desiring for the purpose of provision, safety or joy.
(Click Here to Buy).
We are going to talk about the Biblical way of provision, safety and even joy, but first we have to talk about why we can’t live for our stuff. “No one can serve two masters…you will be more loyal to one than to the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16.13). Check this out. The word here used for money is ‘mammon’ which actually means ‘material wealth’, not specifically cash. It is our stuff, our hoard of TV’s and typewriters, if you will. We are explicitly forbidden by Jesus to serve our stuff. Not only that, but mammon is also used to personify our desire for stuff, sometimes as an evil spirit. It is personified in order to point out the very direct idolatry that takes place. We are, in a sense, serving the spirit of materialism and consumerism instead of God and we have a jealous God. We are commanded to “have no other gods before” Him (Exodus 20.3).
The Vanity of Worldly Riches
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 13.16-21)
There is so much to talk about here, but we are going to hit a few major key points. First of all, the man decided to stockpile his ‘stuff’ and then pursue laziness and arguably gluttony and foolishness until his stuff ran out. How often do we think in this way; if I just had that new car, that new computer, that game, that movie, then I will be content. I actually used to work this way. I would get a job for a while and save up money so I could quit and do nothing for a while. It’s ridiculous.
Not only that, but the parable is saying, “So what!” Even if you succeed in accomplishing your goal of gathering enough stuff to make you happy, the moment it happens, you could easily die and what then? Will there be a garage sale where your stuff is sold too? See, to be rich by the worlds standards is in vain and anyone who is rich according to the world is NOT rich towards God.
*** A quick note: This does not mean that anyone who has an abundance of stuff is not rich toward God, but anyone who pursues material wealth for provision, safety and joy instead of God.
Where does my provision come from?
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
(Luke 13.22-31)
Now the way for our provision, safety and joy. God takes care of the birds and the lilies. The point is that if God takes care of them, then how much more as the most beloved creation will he take care of us? The principle is simple. Don’t worry about your life. Just do what God calls you to do and nothing more. All the other things will be given to you. Seriously, isn’t God faithful? Why should we seek after ‘stuff’? Seek the kingdom and if God decides to bring you joy, provision and safety through stuff, then great.
Does this mean that we can’t have stuff?
Chains that bind us to the world—4 lies that we tell ourselves.
1.My stuff makes me happy
Deuteronomy 16.15—There is a principle here, which we will not uncover, but ultimately the truth is that if you are obedient to do what has been commanded, “your joy will be complete.” ,
Psalms 4.7—“You [God] have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.” The greatest, most complete and eternal joy comes from God and nowhere else.
2.My stuff makes me important
1 John 2.16—“For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.” Look how prideful we have become! We boast in what the world provides, which is meaningless. It doesn’t come from God at all. Our addiction to ‘stuff’ is not godly, it is worldly and it is sin.
3.My stuff makes me secure
Matthew 6.34—This is a parallel account from what we just talked about in Luke. We have no security in our stuff. We could die tomorrow and it will not save us, no matter how much stuff we have. Our salvation comes only from doing the work from which we are called to in Jesus Christ.
4.My stuff makes me ‘rich’
Genesis 14.21-23—“The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’” The king of Sodom has just submitted to Abram and now pleads for his men, that Abram would allow him to keep them, rather than take them into slavery. He offers Abram all of his riches. Abram, however, trust God for his provision, safety and joy, so he refuses to accept anything, so that only God can have the glory for the blessing which would come upon him.
Image Credits: ischerer, sxc.hu
God, My Heart and Stuff–Worldliness Lesson 5
