I’ve been thinking about material possessions a lot lately. How we are often too worried about them; having the right stuff or the most up-to-date things. How they seem like a big deal but they’re really not. A lot of things can put material possessions into perspective.
For example, in the past few months, I’ve personally known two families who have lost their homes to fires. The first family was Cameron’s aunt, uncle, and cousins. Six months after they lost Cameron, they lost their house. They lost absolutely everything; they just escaped with the clothes on their backs. And just last night, my little brother’s friend and his family lost their house to a fire. Events like that really put things into perspective for me. It also shows how easy it is to replace material possessions. Some objects may mean the world to us, but then you look at situations like the ones I just mentioned and you see how easy it really is to lose them.
And just last month, I found myself a little too concerned with my material possessions. I lost a box full of all my shorts and capris. I searched the whole house and couldn’t find the box. And for a while, I was really upset. A little upset that all the clothes I liked were missing, but also upset because I would have to do shopping to replace them. And I hate clothes shopping. But then I reminded myself of how I’m fortunate enough to even be able to go out and buy new clothes.
And I stumbled across a few great Bible verses. Matthew 6:25-34 is such a great reminder:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
There’s also a Sanctus Real song that echoes these verses. And there’s a Switchfoot song that talks about how minor material possessions are. All these references are great reminders that material possessions are so temporary and that God is the one permanent thing in life. Everything around us may change; we might move far away, we might lose our home to a fire, we might lose someone we love, and everything that can go wrong might go wrong. But through those trials we know that God is still there and He will never change.
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