Today, I remember a friend who died of clutter. He saved everything that might fit his dream future, everything that might sell for more than it cost, and everything that had sentimental value. His stuff tied him down, stole his money, chipped away at his fragile health and separated him from family and friends.
In the end, it was clutter that took his life. I don’t know what happened to all his stuff. It was probably bulldozed into a ditch or sold to a salvage yard for pennies on the dollar.
My friend was not unkind, but in this matter, he was unwise. Jesus warned us not to store our treasure on earth, not to let riches choke out our ministries.
Dear Lord, don’t let us die of clutter! Give us the faith to let go of the things that trip us up and hold us down. Let our time be spent loving others. Take away our love of stuff and replace it with a hunger to know and serve You.
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
— Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)
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