For 12 years I have resided in a 12′ by 12′ office. One wall is the door and a closet. The next wall is shelving and cupboards. The next wall is my desk and space to open my cupboards, and then the final wall is more shelving, boxes and room to open the door. So really, my 12 by 12 office is a lot smaller than that when you factor in all the stuff lying around. So given that I reside in a space about the size of a prison cell, one would think that packing this space up would be a piece of cake.
Not even close.
Where did all this stuff come from?
I have five boxes of books I am getting rid of with more on my “free stuff” table outside my office. I have 10 boxes/containers packed of stuff I am taking with me with a couple more boxes to pack.
Once again, where did all this stuff come from. Just look at the banner on the top of this blog and you can get an idea of what I have been dealing with this week.
Stuff, stuff and more stuff.
Incredible.
And I am not even going to talk about the parsonage.
Why do we have so much stuff? I definitely don’t need it because a lot of it is getting tossed. And the stuff getting tossed is stuff I didn’t know I had in the first place and therefore I really didn’t need it to begin with.
That’s it. Every year I am going to purge my office of stuff so I don’t have to deal with this again. Ya right, that will never happen, but it’s a good thought.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal (if only they would steal some of this stuff), but lay for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[Matthew 6:19-21]
Now seriously, please tell me you are not surprised with the scripture I just used 🙂
In any case, I should be encouraged by this whole endeavor. I am not attached to a lot of this stuff and therefore it is easy to throw away, yet I am still keeping a lot of stuff. My treasures? No, not treasures. Just stuff. Stuff I could part with if need be. My real treasure is Jesus. I just wish Jesus hadn’t blessed me with all this stuff. At least He could come and help me pack.
Oh well, enough procrastinating, back to packing.
Come, Lord Jesus, and help me (pack).
The Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 
Well said. I also made a post about “the stuff” at http://www.rcbrophy.com I don’t remember the title but the sentiment was the same, and we’re still dealing with it as we are preparing for a move to Minnesota. In trying not to hate all the annoying people I would see at my rummage sale I had last weekend, I thought, “What would Jesus do?” and then I remembered that he would never have a rummage sale because he would have already given all of his stuff to the poor and gone off to follow the Lord. I have a ways to go I think.