- The things we have that we don’t want.
- The things we have that we can’t take with us.
- The things we have that we don’t want to let go.
Stuff takes on an undue importance when you’re leaving a place.
So it’s good to reminded by Jesus familiar saying, that the “stuff” we own is temporal, gets corrupted by moths and by rust, and other destructive forces. **
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moths and rust corrupt, and where thieves break in and steal
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven”
The thing that we often don’t think about is the corrupting power of the “stuff” itself. Or, not so much the material possessions themselves, but the effect they have on us, especially on our relationships. The ownership of things tends to play on our emotions big time, stirring up the baser instincts of our sinful selves, the envy, selfishness, the greed and jealousy. And this is intensified at times of loss, or displacement.
On the larger scale, the destructive effect of “stuff” on relationships is seen at times when there's a death in a family, where the simple reading of a will can quite literally tear that family apart.
On the micro scale, it happens as well, with us, for example. As we sorted through, sold off, packed, or otherwise disposed of our belongings and our life over this last 18 months since arrival in Greece, there arose all sorts of minor disputes and tensions over this thing and that thing.
This word of Jesus, then, has been so important for us these past two weeks.
Important to be reminded that, even though the “stuff” is important for us as we relocate back to N Ireland, our “heart treasures” need to be deposited elsewhere, safe from corruption and decomposition. It is that focus on the “heart treasures” that will help heal those relationships when they become corrupted by the "stuff".
** Matthew 6:19-21
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