The stuff that controls you

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).

Have you ever thought, "I need a new cabinet to show off my collection"? Have you ever told your spouse, "we need new curtains to go with the furniture we just bought"? Are you reluctant to throw things away because you might need them some day?

Do you own the things in your home, or do they actually own you? The last time you looked for a new place to live, did you pass on an otherwise perfect location because your furniture wouldn’t fit or wasn’t the right style? Have you ever moved to a larger place simply because you needed more room for storage? How much of your monthly income is spent on building a collection or restoring some antique? When children come to visit, do you always watch them closely to make sure they don’t touch anything valuable or precious? Do you worry about your home catching fire while you are away on vacation? How big a premium do you pay for insuring your personal property?

Our possessions are just that—possessions. They should not possess us. But all too often, the things we own start influencing our decisions. While on vacation, a lover of rare books might annoy her family by wanting to stop at every ‘used bookstore’ they happen upon, as she looks for volumes her collection is missing. A sports fan might empty the den and completely redecorate it with sports memorabilia, embarrassing his wife who shuts the door whenever they have guests. When a teen falls in love with a blouse, she might spend a lot of additional time and money to get coordinating slacks and the perfect accessories. In each case, personal property starts dictating personal behavior—behavior that is obsessive, inconsiderate, or wasteful.

Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Luke 12:34). The things we treasure as important take control of us—they demand our attention and influence the decisions that we make. What do you want controlling you? Do you really want a dinette set telling you which house to buy? Or do you want the Son of God directing your behavior? Do you want your thoughts, words and deeds to be motivated by love? Do you want to be known for your patience, compassion and generosity? If you want a life that emphasizes these kinds of qualities, then Jesus needs to have first place in your heart.