Monday, May 18, 2009

Yard Sale and Mt 19:16-24

In the spirit of moving I have taken on the great task of a yard sale. I have been pouring through my things trying to get rid of as much as I can. I have been contemplating the simpler things of life and desiring to rid ourselves of 'excess'. Of course, getting rid of all excess would require me to move to a remote island with no Target. But I am trying. I was looking at the pile of things in the garage and felt really sad about how much I have collected. I mean, it really overwhelmed me to think that I have been swept away by the wave of materialism.

Seeing my pile of 'excess' made me think about the Scripture Matthew 19:16-24:

Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher what good must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One that is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'. The young man said to him, "All these I have observed. What else do I lack?"

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this statement he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle then for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."


Oh boy. Now by no means am I claiming the 'rich' title but in light of all my excess stuff I really want to ask the Holy Spirit to guide my decision to 'give'. (Is it still giving if I do so in a yard sale?) I know that materialism has played its part in coming between me and my spirituality. There is always something to clean, read, listen to, watch, put together, take a part, and so on.

I pray that with 'less' in my life there will be room for much more of Christ!
Posted by at

5 comments:

  1. Thrifty and Chic MomMay 19, 2009 at 8:39 AM

    Good luck with the yard sale we need to dos ome purging too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KarenMay 19, 2009 at 9:21 AM

    I always just give my superfluous stuff away. I come from a long line of pack rats (I think it might be genetic, and I consider myself a recovering pack rat.). I've spent the past 7 years trying to get rid of things I don't need but with places like Target it's hard to stick with bare minimums.
    I could ebay or yard sale all my extra stuff, but I feel better giving it to people who can use it or just donating it to charity.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ColleenMay 19, 2009 at 9:49 AM

    As long as you're not attached to "things", you are doing great! Simplifying feels so good, spiritually, mentally, physically, etc. Good job and good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 19, 2009 at 3:58 PM

    Whatever you don't sell at your yard sale give to a charity of your choice, like the Salvation Army. =) Either way, yo are still doing good and getting rid of things you know you don't really need. GOOD LUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  5. BJSMay 21, 2009 at 9:53 PM

    Another idea (which I haven't yet done, but only thought of since I, too, have way too much stuff--half of which doesn't even fit) is to sell on E-bay, but use the option of donating all or a portion to the charities of your choice. Look for the link on EBay. It seems a lot of people will buy your stuff anda even pay more if they seen the charitable donation part. Makes it all easier -- if it works and you don't have too pay high EBay listing fees (although I think they may just reduce those somewhat for charity sales). Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete

All comments are welcomed. Please remain respectful! Thanks :)

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Blog Archive

Technorati

Add to Technorati Favorites