Well, at least, every physical thing of which I could claim ownership. So, not really everything at all, but rather all "my" things. Roughly 759 things to be more exact. Of course, the number is relative. Is a folder of letters one thing or whatever the number of letters happens to be? I tended to side with counting such things as one, but the number is really not the point.
The point of this whole exercise was try to get a grasp on everything that has been given unto me. What all do I really have? What didn't I know that I had? What am I holding onto? What is worth holding onto? I don't want to be ruled by my stuff. I want to be a good steward. It is easy to be ruled by stuff, and hard to be a good steward when you don't even know what all you have. Well, now that I know, now what?
I've realized I am wealthy. I've always known that I am well-off, but I always associated my wealth with that of my parents. Now that I am on my own, I see that I myself am wealthy. That is despite the fact that I am still dependent on my parents. They pay my tuition and rent, but even if those funds were cut off I would still be considered rich from a global perspective. All my essential needs are met in plenty. And then, I have so much more.
Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. - Matthew 19:23-24
As a rich man, I am utterly dependent on the grace of God. All that I have is to be used for the glory of God. For it is really not mine at all. All is God's From dust I came, to dust I will return. Earthly treasures will be destroyed.
What, then, am I to do? The answer is not to go and sell all my stuff out of a sense of guilt. The sin of the rich man was not that he was rich but that he wasn't willing to let go of his riches. What matters is what you treasure. To store up treasure in heaven is to recognize that any that is of value lies above, to recognize that whether you have much or little of earthly possessions they are all worth naught.
I don't not think there is any hard and fast rule about how many earthly possessions one may have. If we focus on our stuff, whether trying to gain or trying to give away, we miss the point. I could give all I possess to the poor but if I do not have love, it makes no difference (1 Cor. 13:3). It's not about what we get or give, but about how we love.
When we love God, when he is our sole desire, when we desperately seek him out, then we are freed from the bondage of relying on our things. God is all we need. He is sufficient. He is our sustenance. We seek the grace of God so that we may love and in so doing freely give and receive. We ask for God's grace so that we might hold onto no thing, but use all for his glory. We ask for God's grace so that we might see beyond ourselves, and love others with all that we have been given.
I am utterly dependent on the grace of God. I am a rich man in a poor world. I cannot live according to the ways of the world. The American dream is a false dream. God alone will suffice. And, so, I ask for his grace that I might truly love and be freed from my stuff.
Love this
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