I have a lot of stuff. Sometime I look around and think we collect stuff. We have so much stuff around us.
I especially like my toys. Bicycles, scooters, boats (lots of boats), a nice camper, basketball hoops and several balls. Why do we need so much?
I was thinking yesterday, right after I bought another toy on ebay, that that’s enough. We don’t need so much stuff. I spent the afternoon going through the garage to see what can go. We’ll be selling a couple of small sailboats, and some other things that we haven’t used in some time. It’s time to clean out the things we don’t need or use anymore.
Why do I mention all this in a forum that delivers a daily devotion? Because not all stuff is physical stuff. Most of us are carrying around our share of spiritual stuff, too. Understandings that make sense to us, but don’t quite jive with Scripture. Things that we’ve heard in songs or stories that we just assumed to Biblical. And most of us have a few things that we think should be right, just the way things should be, but not necessarily according to our Christian Doctrine.
An example, I came across a Christmas trivia quiz several years ago. I shared it with my last congregation when I first saw it, and I shared it here in Almond last year. On average, half of what we know (to be true) about the Christmas Story, we’ve learned from Christmas Carols and TV specials over the years. And it’s not supported by Scripture. It’s some of that spiritual stuff that we all carry around with us.
Perhaps it’s time for us all to clean out the things that we don’t need anymore. The spiritual things we’ve picked up over the years. These are the things that actually keep us from knowing God more intimately.
I especially like my toys. Bicycles, scooters, boats (lots of boats), a nice camper, basketball hoops and several balls. Why do we need so much?
I was thinking yesterday, right after I bought another toy on ebay, that that’s enough. We don’t need so much stuff. I spent the afternoon going through the garage to see what can go. We’ll be selling a couple of small sailboats, and some other things that we haven’t used in some time. It’s time to clean out the things we don’t need or use anymore.
Why do I mention all this in a forum that delivers a daily devotion? Because not all stuff is physical stuff. Most of us are carrying around our share of spiritual stuff, too. Understandings that make sense to us, but don’t quite jive with Scripture. Things that we’ve heard in songs or stories that we just assumed to Biblical. And most of us have a few things that we think should be right, just the way things should be, but not necessarily according to our Christian Doctrine.
An example, I came across a Christmas trivia quiz several years ago. I shared it with my last congregation when I first saw it, and I shared it here in Almond last year. On average, half of what we know (to be true) about the Christmas Story, we’ve learned from Christmas Carols and TV specials over the years. And it’s not supported by Scripture. It’s some of that spiritual stuff that we all carry around with us.
Perhaps it’s time for us all to clean out the things that we don’t need anymore. The spiritual things we’ve picked up over the years. These are the things that actually keep us from knowing God more intimately.
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