I confess. I'm jealous of a woman named Dee Williams. Dee decided to downsize and sold her 3-bedroom house to move into (my fav) an 84-square foot “tiny house.” Oh, man!
Williams says the transition liberated her from a monthly mortgage payment. She now owns her home—which cost a fraction of the price of her previous home—and she pays hardly anything each month in heating costs. But before moving in, she had to purge a lot of her possessions....precious possessions like old photos, love letters, and her college jacket all landed in the trash.
Apparently, in her quest to keep living light, Dee now allows herself no more than 300 belongings at one time. Contemplating making this (for me) tempting kind of change makes me wonder if I could do it....and whether I am still too attached to my "stuff."
In Mark 10, Jesus meets a rich man who wants to know how he can gain eternal life. The man says he has obeyed God’s commandments from childhood, and “Jesus felt genuine love for him.”
Despite the warmth of the moment, Jesus delivered some hard truth: “There is still one thing you haven’t done.... Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me."
The story doesn't have a fairytale ending. Jesus’ challenge crushed the man. His “face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions." The man knew he would have to choose Jesus or choose to stay snuggled up with his stuff.
For us as Jesus-followers, our call to “live lightly” isn't about the quantity or quality of our possessions: it’s about what we treasure.
Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be also." So. What do we treasure?
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