I liked my stuff. But, my mother did not always feel the same about my stuff. When I left home for the Air Force, she threw away some of my stuff and gave away other stuff, including my childhood baseball cards. I loved my mother, but her giving away my Mickey Mantle and Rodger Maris rookie baseball cards was the worst. But, I got over it.
Americans have so much stuff, entirely too much stuff. There are companies that actually do nothing but build storage units to store our stuff. People will spend a lot of money each month to store their stuff, for years. When people die, the children clean out the storage units and either sell much of the stuff or haul the stuff to the disposal dump, because they already have too much of their own stuff. But, we have to have our own, personal good stuff. It was treasured stuff for the parents but for the children it was old good-for-nothing stuff. Sorta like what my mother thought my stuff was. Those baseball cards would worth hundreds of dollars today, if not thousands. But, I got over it.
Many people have yard sales and sell their stuff. This is where people lay their old stuff in their yards and other people who do not have enough stuff come and buy it. After selling their old bad stuff, then, they sometimes go to other yard sales and buy other people's good stuff to fill up the empty spots where their old stuff was. Stuff is fun, especially when you can buy your new good stuff cheap, and then spend money to store the stuff until it becomes your old stuff. Then you brag about your "good", new old stuff you bought at a yard sale.
I think some people live with the idea that who ever dies with the most stuff, wins. Not sure what they win because unfortunately, you cannot take much of your stored stuff with you when you die.
In reality, most stuff is of no consequence. The only real important stuff you have is the stuff you have with you when you get to heaven. The stuff refined and stored in your heart. But then, the only really good stuff you leave behind, the only good stuff that causes people to remember you, is the stuff in your heart that contains what your character was/is made of. What kind of important stuff is contained in your heart?
Your real important stuff is what you refine every day. People see the product of your heart in everything you do and say. What is most important is that God sees the stuff behind your deeds and words, that important stuff that motivates your thoughts. And, from thoughts, that stuff builds your character.
It is said, "Character is what you do when you think when you think no one is looking." But, God is. Your faith is a large part of your character. It defines your character. You can fool some people some of the time, you can even fool some people all the time, but you don't fool God any of the time. What is being refined in your heart? Hopefully, is it of stuff from life eternal, the thoughts, words, and deeds recorded of Jesus.
Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father, except by me." What kind of stuff are you going to show Him. Will He care to know the stuff in your heart? What is the stuff you treasure and refine?
Treasures in Heaven
Matthew 6:22,23pp -- Lk 11:34-36
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Similarly said: where heart is, there also is your treasure.
Let your heart be refined by the Word of God.
Thanks be to God
© lonnie coggins
==============================
Sharing these messages
You are welcome to share these messages. You can send the links to your friends, copy and insert the link on FB or Christian.com or you can print the message and share it with your friends.
You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit. You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document. After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:
© Lonnie Coggins
ldcoggins@gmail.com
If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission. Typically, I will most likely give permission.
lonnie
0072
No comments:
Post a Comment