Have you ever had the sad responsibility of going through the effects of someone who’s died? If it’s a spouse, perhaps sorting and sifting through all the things that meant something to both of you was a comforting task. If the little trinkets and doo dads brought back pleasant memories, then you certainly derived some benefit.

If, however, you’re at a parent’s home where you hardly ever visited and whom you really didn’t know all that well, you might be in for an overwhelming task. Understanding that everything you’re handling had some significance to someone else isn’t very helpful if it means absolutely nothing to you. But, many parents leave their children in exactly this situation.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a good friend about this very subject. His parents own two homes up north, one with a basement. They own several cars, though only one is insured for use. Their homes and garages are full of stuff. They’ve rented other people’s garage space in order to store more stuff. At one of their homes, they recently completed a detached three car garage. While my friend was speaking on the phone with his mother recently, she mentioned that they’d had a hail storm. She said that they’d protected their car by putting it in a neighbor’s garage. My friend broke out in gales of laughter! His parents own or rent many garages. Yet, when they needed a place in which to get their car out of the storm, they had to take refuge in a neighbor’s garage!

Now, lest you think that’s a funny story and conclude what strange people my friend’s parents must be, go take a look around your own home and garage(s) RIGHT NOW! How much stuff are you storing that you scarcely remember exists? More importantly, if you don’t deal with all the junk, what in the world are your children going to do with it someday after you’re gone?

I had this point brought home by several conversations with our local son, Tim, and his wife, Debbie. They’re in their mid-30’s. Two of their three children are teens! They recently decided to do some upgrading around their home. These improvements included new, tighter windows, a new air conditioning unit, new kitchen cabinets and new flooring. As they tore out the old to make way for the new, they kinda made a game of seeing how much stuff they could give away, recycle or send to the landfill. I’d hear about bag after bag of uselessness exiting their home as their project proceeded (and succeeded).

Pat and I have occasionally attacked the business of dis-acquiring with a vengeance, but not for a while. We’re again making noises about getting in the garage and filling bag after bag for Good Will, Salvation Army, etc. We don’t anticipate any immediate departure from this life, but we figure it couldn’t hurt to reduce that eventual task that will fall to our kids to a manageable level.

If what I’ve suggested makes sense on a human level about how we deal with all the stuff we acquire throughout our lives, how much more it might make sense for us to consider those things we might want to acquire or dis-acquire in our spiritual lives.

Of course, the Bible does tell us to acquire or add certain things, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 1:5-8)

However, we’re also told in Colossians 3:5-10, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

Correct-a-mundo! Out with the bad, in with the good. When our day of reckoning comes and we’re judged by Christ for our works, we want as little wood, hay, and stubble and as much gold and precious stones as we can manage.

Take some time. Do an inventory. Acquire only good stuff; dis-acquire the bad stuff! If these thoughts stimulate some response in you, please drop me an E-mail and let me know. Just use the “Leave a Reply” box below and let your little fingers do the walking!

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