Dealing With The Stuff

by Bruce Brady

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Ephesians 5:15-16

Those of us who are business minded will read these verses and focus on seizing every income producing opportunity. And there’s nothing wrong with that, if we keep our focus on God. However, many of us will ignore the spiritual opportunities and only see the promised earthly rewards.

 

Now I’m not going to tell you that everything on earth is evil. In fact, things are neutral, neither good nor evil. Things are just things. They’re only evil if we allow them to steal our focus. To me, the greatest danger of things is in the accumulation of them. The more we own, the more time we have to spend maintaining them. They are great robbers of time.

I love stories that teach or make me feel good and gadgets that make life easier. I’ve accumulated a lot of books, DVDs and various “time-saving” widgets. Now I’m faced with what to do with my things.

I’ve spent countless hours working to get them, accumulating them, using them, cleaning them, storing them, rearranging them. Once again I find myself planning the best way to store and organize them, and deciding what to keep and what to give away. Wondering if I really need them, the Spirit gave me a glimpse of how much more time I’ll spend on these things in the future.

Then the Holy Spirit showed me the real problem. Every minute I spend in thought and action with regards to my things, I’m robbing myself of time with God. Time that could be so much more valuable to me. That’s when I realized that the time spent on the maintenance of things is one of Satan’s greatest tools. The Devil loves it when I’m focused on my “stuff.” And he uses this tool with great subtlety.

So, I’ve decided a major cleaning out is in order. I know it’ll take more of my time but I’ll realize a great time savings in the future, time I can spend with my Creator. And time spent with our Creator is always time well spent.

If you find yourself dealing with a lot of stuff, physical or emotional, it’s time for a “deep cleaning.” Give away anything you haven’t used in a while and give all your mental stuff to God who’ll deal with it much more efficiently. Then, you can seize the opportunity to spend time with the Lord and enjoy the peace and comfort that comes with relaxing in His love.