Last week the family down the street from us had an estate sale. The children gathered all their parent’s stuff, piled it on the front lawn. Put out a sign and waited for the customers.

The cars lined our street. People anxious to get stuff so they can pile it in their homes or sell it on line. The moving of items from one place to another. Lives reduced to managing stuff.

John Stott wrote, “Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment. Its motto is, ‘We brought nothing into this world, and we can certainly carry nothing out.’ It recognizes that we are pilgrims. It concentrates us on what we need, and measures this by what we use. It rejoices in the good things of creation, but hates waste and greed and clutter. It knows how easily the seed of the Word is smothered by the ‘cares and riches of this life.’ It wants to be free of distractions, in order to love and serve God and others.”

Now I will be honest with you. I like stuff too. I enjoy my car, my TV, my ipad you know…stuff. But…I must be careful that these items don’t start to control me and then one day…yes one day my children only remember me by the stuff and the few dollars they made from a yard sale.

So take a moment to give thanks for a loving God that has provided this day for you. A Savior that has secured tomorrow through sacrifice. Take a moment to lift someone up and allow yourself to be lifted up. Ask God for the essentials that we need but to allow us the joy of the morning. See you on the path…and you may need to push some of the clutter aside so you can keep moving.

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