vendredi 1 avril 2005

To be possession-less

I was blessed to hear a wonderful sermon at school today, preached by none other than my friend. One of the things he talked about was the wartime lifestyle, which I wrote a bit about last year. Well, over Christmas, I tried it once again, but that didn't go over too well. I recommitted myself to this vision again last month and actually drew up a budget and resolved not to buy useless junk. But after that sermon today, I feel even more convicted to seriously give up everything that will get in the way of what I'll be doing in the future. Right after finals are over, I am going to spend my summer reducing my possessions and keeping only the things that I will absolutely need.

I remember reading The Gospel According to Larry a while ago for fun, and one of the things unique about 'Larry' is that he only has 75 possessions in total. His rule is that if he wants something new to add to his stuff, he needs to get rid of something so that the new thing can takes its place. I don't know if I can do that since I have so many books, but the idea of having so few things on earth to be worried about sounds completely freeing. I don't want to be tied down by what I have, and it's such a daunting thing at this point. This whole post really reflects how materialistic my culture is and how much I've allowed that to seep into my life, huh? I hate that I didn't have a vision for this before when I was younger, but I'm glad I will be starting to, right near the end of college.

Anyways, when I do my practicum next year, the last thing I want to worry about are my belongings and how I'm going to transport them all over there. Yecch, I'm going to do what I can to cut everything down by half. It's not that I have a lot of "stuff stuff," but that most of what I have are papers and random gifts people have given me which takes up a lot of room. And it is utterly sad that this is a problem in my life. I've become a "fat" Christian, and this is a sin that I need to repent of, and get rid of before it develops roots into adulthood. Lord, help me to live a wartime lifestyle for Your glory!

Everyone wants everyone else's everything
Sometimes the more we have, the less we really gain
I'm tired of life and all that money has to buy
Get out of my heart, out of my mind, leaving you behind....

Why are we obsessed with possessions here on earth?
Go and take a look at the flowers and the birds
God is always taking care of nature's every need
And how much more important in the Father's eyes are we?
I said, how much more important in the Father's eyes are we?
He sees everything

- Sanctus Real "Things Like You"

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