Week 1 - Possessions

Christmas of 2013 saw a dramatic rise in shopping for gifts using a simple cell phone. This little device that is always with you, has the capability to have it’s owner connected to shopping opportunities 24/7. In fact, mobile device shopping drastically increased this year, up 46% from the 2012 holiday shopping season.

Did you see that?

I just named an entire season of the year (and a holy one at that!) by a consumerist activity! And, if you are like me, it didn't even perk on your radar.

In fact, it didn't register to me because as I type this I have 2 other windows open on my desktop. One that is monitoring my eBay auction that I am bidding on and another is open to another online retailer as I contemplate how to use the gift cards I got for Christmas.  Possessions, and how to amass more and better ones, are on my mind and desk/tablet-top far too often.

I am torn.            And you may be as well…

On one hand we are marketed to and told that having more and better stuff is what it is all about. The picture of the “good life” that we have been sold one where we amasses clothing, cars, gadgets, toys, devices etc. towards the hope that these things will somehow fulfill us and then also give us a much needed identity.

Matthew 6: 19-21 asks us why we would store up treasures on earth when they are so easily lost or destroyed? Instead Scripture urges us to store up treasures that matter in the Christ’s kingdom, because where our treasure is, there also are our hearts.

Our hearts are called to the picture of the kingdom we see in the life of Jesus. Living simply so that others may more easily see the treasures of His kingdom; love, justice, peace, mercy, and grace. With Jesus and his disciples there was not a lot of “things” cluttering our view of these treasures.

We probably know many Christians, maybe even ourselves, who posses so many of these treasures of the kingdom of heaven, but often times they can be difficult to see as they are cluttered over with all of our earthly treasures.  The Gospel of Matthew continues in chapter 6 assuring us that we cannot serve two masters. We can try, but one clutters the other and ultimately wins out.

So, what would it be like if we began to give things away?

What if, for this one week, each of us gave 7 things away each day?

Author Jen Hatmaker has this to say about giving things away:

“But if I’m being truthful, this is a sickening cycle of consumerism that I perpetuate constantly. I used to pardon excess from the tension of the gospel by saying, “Oh, it doesn’t matter what you have; it’s what you do with it.” But that exemption is folding in on itself lately. Plus, let’s be honest: what does “it’s what you do with it” even mean? Are we really doing something honorable with our stuff other then consuming it? I am not sure carting it all off after we are bored with those particular items is a helpful response since we just replace it with more.”  (7, p.71)

“Donating everything through a third party removes the relational magic when one human connects with another.” (7, p. 72)

So, could we each covenant together to give 7 things away, each day, until we meet again?

For the sake of the Kingdom, for the sake of others, for our sake, so we can begin to more clearly see through the clutter and realize the heavenly treasures that God has given us – so that we can give them away too!

Discussion:

- Where do we see ourselves being pulled to have more and better stuff?

-How do you typically fall into that?

-What good treasures of His kingdom has God blessed you with?

-What often keeps you from using of capitalizing on those?

-What might begin to change in us if we gave things away?

-What might God fill those extra margins with?

-What do you think about Jen’s second quote? How could that shape our giving?

-How do we encourage one another this week as we give things away?

-How then should we pray?