Wednesday, October 25, 2000
Wednesday, October 25, 2000 |
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'Things' don't
make us happy... By REV JOHN HATCHER Hundreds of yard and garage sales are popping up across our pathways. I worry more than a little about such things. It seems to me that yard sales are tributes to trash and junk (yes, I know what is to one man trash, to another treasure). But really! We want to get rid of evidence that convicts us of stupidity. Why did we buy "it" in the first place? Don't know who said it, but someone said, "We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like." Go figure! Just tonight I went into our bedroom and sat in a rocking chair used mostly as a clothes catcher. We really don't need two chairs in our bedroom especially for our penchant to use the bed for a chair. In fact, we have more than 30 chairs of some sort in our modest home. Presently, there are only four of us (including the exchange student from Belarus). That does not count the 10 or so lawn chairs. But what about dishes. Three sets of China, one from my mother, one from my wife's mother and the best one from a neighbor's garage sale. We've got enough plates for a White House dinner. Utensils? How about an everyday set which is used 360 days of the year, a silver plate set used four days of the year, and a sterling silver set used one day a year. Forgive the hyperbole. But it's just about the truth. Stuff! And more stuff! Mountains of stuff! Does life consist of more than just stuff? Getting stuff. Having stuff. Getting rid of stuff. Just walk through your home or house, whichever you live in, and see all the trinkets, collectibles, heirlooms, antiques, glasses, lamps, pictures, and all that sort of stuff. What will happen to all of it? I like what one of my dear members does. She calls her practice "re-cycling." Rather than her children parceling out all her precious things after the "service," she's giving beautiful and precious gifts to her loved ones while she living. As a result, she's benefiting from the promise of our Lord Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." What about conducting a variance on yard sales and call them "yard give-a-ways." You simply put all the stuff on tables and say, "Take what you want. It's yours if you want it." What you think? I can hear some say, "What give my good stuff away for nothing!" Well, at yard sale prices, it's almost a give-away. I suppose yard sales are a testimony, also, to the truth that things don't make us happy. Did, in fact, things make us happy, we would not offer them at bargain prices. We thought the "bread machine" would make us happy, reminding us of the time grandmother made fresh bread But what we found out was that grandmother making the bread was the wonderful memory, not just the bread. We thought the nifty mini-fryer would make our life neater and more exciting. It possibly could if George Forman were there using it in our kitchen. Now, things are not evil. Wanting things does not make us bad. But, there's a priority which must be observed: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). When God is first in our lives, we can enjoy things, have fun with things, but not be run nor ruled by the things. By the way, we're having a garage sale at our house this Saturday from 9 a.m. until all the junk is gone! Ya'll come.
Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville. |
