You Can't Take It With You

Call me rebellious, but when I’m told to NOT do something, I immediately start planning how I CAN do it. I know. I have issues. I’m working on them, please don’t judge me. Even when it’s God telling me, even though I know He KNOWS best and wants the best FOR me, I still fight it. I still gotta try my own thing, my own way, my own plans. Then, once I’ve experienced a little bit of pain and frustration (and potentially a broken relationship or two) I finally ask, “Ok God, what do you want me to do?” Just writing that makes me feel like an idiot. 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Matthew 6:19 NIV

Here’s one. God says, “Do NOT store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (emphasis mine). Why not? I LIKE stuff. I might even go so far as to say I LOVE stuff. Seriously, I do and I’d be willing to suggest you do too (you just might not be ready to admit it yet; we call that denial). I like my house. I like my van. I like my clothes. I like my bed. Yes! I LOVE my bed!

Weekends are notorious for family trips. All week long I look forward to Saturday, a day of rest and relaxation, a day with no commitments. And each week Saturday always seems to be booked up with some sorta trip to somewhere to see someone or do something. Now, it always works out for the best. I always end up having a great time. And at the end of the day, when I’m driving back home at far too late o’clock, my bed is all I can think about. I think about how warm and soft and comfy it is. I think about my pillow. I think about how my wife better stay on her side and now crowd me. Someone needs to invent a bed divider that works like one of those windows in a limousine, just sayin’. I LOVE my bed! Why? It meets a need. It satisfies. It’s mine.

You can’t take it with you.
I can’t take it with me.

In the grand scheme of things, what purpose does my bed serve? What purpose does any of it serve? Sure, my house provides shelter. Food provides, well, food. My van provides transportation. My clothes provide, well, clothing. It all serves a purpose, but what then? What happens when I die? What happens to my stuff then? What happens when something NEW comes out? What then? What happens when the NEXT BIG THING hits the market? What then? What happens when my neighbor or someone else I know needs help and I can’t help them because I’m so wrapped up in debt with my own stuff… what then?

The love of STUFF is a dangerous game to play. It feels like it satisfies, but leaves us wanting more (sounds like an addiction, doesn’t it?). But it meets a need… does it really? At what point do the things you want and the things you have become more important than your relationship with Jesus? At what point does the CREATED become more important than the CREATOR? I believe many of us, probably most of us, need to adjust our priorities.

Your neighbor just got a new pool. Your friend just got a new car. Your cousins just bought that new HUGE house. Where’s yours? Where’s mine? Why do THEY get that stuff and I don’t? It becomes a race and competition to get more, to get bigger, to get better. We start trying to KEEP UP with our neighbors instead of REACHING OUT TO our neighbors.

You can’t take it with you.

If you know JESUS, you now something BETTER. God says, “Do not sure up for yourselves treasures ON EARTH” (emphasis mine) because He has something BETTER in store for you!

Jesus + nothing = everything
Everything – Jesus = nothing

That’s some radical math. It’s time for an eye exam. It’s time for a realignment of the heart. It’s time to let go of the STUFF you want so you grab a hold of the SAVIOR you need!