Having been born in 1931 most people in my home town did not have a surplus of material “things” – often referred to as “stuff.” In the next two or three decades the economy greatly improved and more stuff became available. People saw it, wanted it, bought it, displayed it, and compared it with other people’s stuff. When compared to what people owned during the early 1930s most of us now have a great deal more.
Currently in our country there are more than 30,000 self-storage facilities containing more than a billion square feet of space where people can store their accumulated stuff. Sixty or seventy years ago self-storage facilities did not even exist. Americans spend $12 billion every single year just to store their extra stuff.
Just one citizen, William Randolph Hearst, businessman, politician, and newspaper publisher, became an expert at accumulating stuff. He built a residence containing 72,000 square feet to house his stuff. It contained 3,500-year-old hand-carved Egyptian statues, medieval Flemish tapestries, and some of the greatest works of art of all time. It was located on 265,000 acres.
Multiplied thousands of people now go through Hearst’s house, and they all say the same thing: “Wow! He certainly had a lot of stuff!” What happened then? After acquiring an ungodly amount of stuff he died. One out of one dies. It happens to everybody. We ultimately leave all of our stuff behind – for our kids to divide among themselves, or to be sold in order to pay Uncle Sam who is waiting in line for his portion.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19). It is not wise to attach one’s greatest value to things that do not last. It is much better to attach supreme value to that which is eternal – God and people.
Small children find it easy to say of the things that are given to them, “Mine!” Adults know that small children do not earn any of their stuff. It is all provided for them, a gift from someone much older and wiser than they – parents, grandparents, or other members of their family. As a general rule they don’t always take good care of what is given to them. Nevertheless, like adults, they become very attached to their stuff.
Consider a few statements from Scripture: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1). “When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift from God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19). “How much better it is to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!” (Proverbs 16:16).
I have been a Christian minister since 1949. When it comes to being a Christian steward of the material wealth God has given to us, would you care to guess what is probably the most asked question I have been asked about tithing? It is, “Do I have to tithe on the net or on the gross?” When translated this means, “How little can I give and still be on good terms with God?” Expressed another way it means, “How much of my stuff can I keep for myself?” It is like going to your mother the week before Mother’s Day and saying, “Mom, what is the least amount of money I can spend on your present and still be assured that you love me?”
Every one of us will one day have to give an account of how we have handled what God has entrusted to our care. It can be an occasion of great joy or one of deep regret. God only loans to us the stuff we say is ours, but it all belongs to Him. Only what we give back to Him and to bless others will we be able to take with us into what Jesus called “the Father’s House” (John 14:1-4).
The Paper Pulpit 
Leave a Reply