November 26, 2012
Hoarders
As believers most of
us recognize that everything we have comes from the Lord, and we praise Him for
His provisions. When I watch a television show on hoarders, with all their
piles of treasures, stuff and trash, I have to wonder at what point did God’s
provision turn into greed and self-sufficiency. As a believer I try to see God
in everything, but I’ve got to tell you I haven’t been able to locate God in
any of the homes I’ve seen. “Command
those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their
hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly
provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1Tim 6:17 NIV)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----Hoarding actually has many reasons. It is merely an outward manifestation of some inner condition. It only might be greed. It can also be fear. And not necessarily a fear of throwing something away, like what makes my tendency to hoard gadgets and little parts of all kinds fearing I might need them later and not have them for something I’m trying to make. Or it can be almost any other fearful dread the subconscious has deceitfully hidden from the conscious, while venting it through hoarding. In such case, washing the empty tin-can and keeping it becomes a ritual satisfying the emotional fear regarding something entirely unrelated to that tin-can, yet fully satisfied by the sight of the can being safely packed away amidst all the other stuff. And hoarding has myriads of other mental causes, too, including greed.
-----My aunt was once a hoarder. Her place was stuffed from the front door all the way throughout the house to the rear door with things that truly belonged in the dump. There was one narrow path through the living room to the back door, and another leading to the kitchen and bathroom, the only two rooms vacant enough to be useful. Her and my uncle slept outside under an old pick-up camper shell he had fixed up for that purpose. He loved her dearly, if not properly (else he would have put down a compassionately firm foot.) Sometime after he died, all the junk made its way to the dump where it belonged. I often wonder if she felt she needed that junk to take care of him, or maybe just to vex him. Only she knows. But she is now normal.
-----But you do state the general truth. Hoarding has a connection to sin. The healthy mind is not a hoarding mind. It might keep a lot of stuff. I have a friend who keeps all kinds of parts and gadgets, but well organized (probably what influences my hoarding.) Whenever he is building something, he usually has what he needs, and he usually has whatever a friend (often me) who’s building something needs too. He’s a real God-send, not a hoarder. But it’s those tin-can, old news paper, and shoe sole savers who are just as mentally out of kilter as are the folks whose rooms and garages are packed full of tennis rackets, bowling balls, and ski-dos. Out of kilter happens by off course thinking, feeling, and behavior. Righteousness and healthy attitudes and thinking and feeling are Biblically prescribed courses which getting off them can truly be described as sin. Maybe small, seemingly inconsequential sin. Seemingly. But still sin constructing destruction into the mind.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment