My family and I moved to a different house a couple of weeks ago. There are very few things I really hate, but moving is definitely one of them. I hate packing up all my stuff, I hate leaving a house and neighborhood I love, I hate hauling heavy boxes and furniture, and I hate sorting through tons of boxes to find what I need to work after we’ve moved to the new house.
One question I kept asking myself during the move was, “Why do we have all this stuff?!” Don’t get me wrong, we’re not pack rats and we usually only shop out of necessity (as opposed to shopping because it’s fun or entertaining). I just kept wondering why we were lugging so much stuff every time we moved. It was really troubling to think we paid for so much stuff that was simply being stored in the basement or attic. It pretty much sickens me to think that Americans have more stuff in storage than what the rest of the world owns COMBINED.
During the move, my wife kept bringing up really good “What if?” questions. “What if God calls us to…” and “What if God asks us to give…”
What do “What if?” questions have to do with owning too much stuff? Everything! What if God calls us to overseas missions? What do we do with all of our stuff? Something tells me that Paul did not have a bunch of junk in a self-storage unit as he spread the gospel across Asia Minor.
What about the cost of all this garbage? I wish I could get my money back for every DVD I only watched once or every book I never read or every accessory and trinket I thought would make my life so much better. That money could have gone to sponsor a child or take that mission trip I said I couldn’t afford to take. An even sadder situation is when people can’t afford to give or go because they’re strapped with debt. An over-sized car payment or maxed-out credit card can seriously hinder a person from being available for God to use.
It really is a brilliant demonic strategy if you think about it. “Let people have all they want until they’re too buried by possessions to be able to go when God says go.”
I believe that God wants me and my family to be in a position to be used by Him. He wants us to be ready. I have a friend who sold his house and moved into an apartment just because God might call him overseas. That may sound extreme to some, but when God calls, he won’t have to spend a year getting rid of everything before he goes. I know some people really take issue with this kind of thinking. They’re thinking, “I worked hard. Why shouldn’t I enjoy lots of possessions? I have a standard of living to maintain!” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “We should be far more concerned with our standard of dying than our standard of living.”
So what are we going to do about it? I’m going to issue myself (and you, if you choose) a challenge. I’m calling it my “Down to One Challenge”. What does that mean? It’s simple; if I have three boxes of something, I’m going to narrow it down to one box. For instance, I have several boxes of things I’ve filed away for ministry purposes. It’s time to scale back to one. Do I really need to keep all those catalogs, old conference notes, and brochures “just in case”? I also have tons of camping gear (I’ve gone once in the last three years), collectibles, and music gear too. Some things I’ll give away like I did here. Other things I’ll sell. And some of it will go to Goodwill or in the trash.
It’s not about being anti-stuff or taking some vow of poverty. It’s about living without the trappings of too much stuff so we can be available when God calls.
So how about you? Are you in? I’ll be posting my challenges here on this blog and it would be great to hear your thoughts.
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Two words Lee…I agree!
As an Air Force brat who spent her childhood moving every two to four years, I grew up not holding onto a lot of ‘stuff’. Now my present family is looking at moving not just once, but twice. My pastorate has ended in one setting, but I do not have another call and so we will be moving in with my sister until a new call is received. We have been divesting ourselves of all kinds of stuff (my daughters have donated around 200 stuffed animals) and yet your post, Lee, makes me realize that there is even more that could be done. Maybe, like you, as we get moved to wherever God has for us, we can go through our stuff as we unpack and downsize as we do so.
I’m finding that, no matter how much we get rid of, there’s still more we can live without.
I completely agree! Though, you wouldn’t know it by looking at our house, especially our “play room” which is full of entirely too many toys! 😉 While I wish I could find the time and resources to eliminate down to what we would consider a “reasonable amount” (trash space is SERIOUSLY an issue over here, so throwing things out takes much more forethought than I’m used to) I am trying to challenge myself to throw things away that I stumble upon and don’t have an immediate need for. I’m a total pack-rat, so this is surprisingly hard for me. I keep things that other people would never DREAM of keeping, “just in case”! I think I’ve gotten much better, but there’s always room for improvement. Lately, I have been challenging myself to find 1 thing a day I can get rid of. It isn’t much, but for a pack rat such as myself, sometimes that can be very difficult! I guess, though, if it came down to God calling us somewhere where we could not go because of the “stuff”, we would go anyways and just leave the stuff behind, even if it was on the curb. Sometimes I think I would have an easier time leaving it all behind if it was all at once and I couldn’t reflect on every individual item, but I don’t really know.
I remember that in Ireland. Dumping stuff one little wheely-bin at a time!
I wonder how many of us are truly prepared for our real home? Some of us are so heavily laden with the THINGS of this world that we have changed our permanent address from heaven to this world. So, in many cases, we are just confessing with our mouths, but our hearts and lifestyles say quite the opposite that we are ready for the Lord come and to take us home.
I love this phrase: “We should be far more concerned with our standard of dying than our standard of living.” In fact, I went ahead to read the original article as well.
That reminds me of the late Rich Mullins (writer of Awesome God – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU8MS6lGmE8), who would turn over all his royalties to his local church and have them pay a salary from his own earnings. Such as one was more concerned about his standard of dying than of his living.
Those ministers acquiring private jets, multiple mansions, expensive designer clothings collections have lost their concern for their standard of dying than living.
I remarried 5 years ago and eliminated 90% of everything I owned. I was moving to my new husband’s house. Yet this blog touched that place in my heart the Lord has been speaking to lately. I have felt “entitled” to get what I want because I am the breadwinner in our house. Was convicted of that last week. Now your blog is God taking me further. Time to lighten up even more!!! My husband is a packrat and that has also fed my entitlement mentality. “If he can keep his stuff then I can keep my stuff.” WOW – I have been so wrong!!! Thanks for your obedience to share this! I needed it!!!!!
Thanks Elayn!
I agree wholeheartedly with this post. I’ve actually been thinking about writing something like this for a few weeks now.
My wife and I are in the process of getting rid of a bunch of ‘stuff.’ We’ve even setup some ‘Purge Dates’ to work on specific areas of the house. Next week, it’s the basement.
By doing these purges, it has actually made our lives seem more full; we don’t have a bunch of stuff cluttering our (already small) home. I’d love to get to the point where we could pack all of our important, must have items in our station wagon and move across the country, if necessary.
Keep inspiring us, Lee.
There’s freedom in simplicity. If only more people realized that.
Your last reply there is what I was going to say. Freedom is what makes it so worthwhile. We are still content in our small inexpensive home because it allows us freedom. I can’t imagine being trapped by things and debts anymore. Having lived through seasons of material gluttony I truly appreciate the simplicity of my life these days.