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Bigger Barns

Last night, I bought several 'containers' - storage bins of different sizes for putting stuff in.

The first sermon I ever preached was based on Luke 12, which reads, in part:

"And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Ah. I can argue, of course, that I didn't get any more things, I just wanted a better way to organize the things I already had. Very reasonable. Sensible. Stress-reducing to have less piles. Still, "And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" It definitely echoes in the back of my mind.

Comments

Kate said…
Oh boy! With my current packing and such, I'm also going through this struggle. Why is it so hard for me to give up books and clothes and vases, for goodness' sake?
Melissa said…
I can definitely relate. Even though most of what I have here can fit into one room, I still have mounds of stuff at home. That I don't use. That I probably wouldn't miss if my parents got rid of it (with a few exceptions). And yet, if I was the one doing going through everything, almost none of it would be pitched.

Having all this stuff definitely complicates my desire for a simple lifestyle...

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