Let’s put some things in perspective for just a moment here today. For the most part, I have too much “stuff!” The other day, I was moving some things around in the garage and I came to realize that I have 5 complete sets of golf clubs! Now, I can only play with a total of 14 clubs in my bag at one time, so all the other sets are just sitting there, gathering dust and being in the way! Maybe it is time I clean out some things and eliminate some of the ‘stuff” that I seem to be keeping.
Someone once said, “He who dies with the most toys wins,” to which someone else responded, “He who dies with the most toys is still dead!” For some reason we here in the United States seem to love to “collect” things. We collect golf clubs, or plates, or shot glasses, or autographed baseballs and the list just goes on and on. Why is that, I wonder? Could it be that we hope that if we collect enough “stuff” that maybe one of the things we have will be worth some money one day? Or is it that we keep all that stuff to remind us of days gone by. Whatever the reason is, we are a “collection” society. In our scripture reading for today, Paul is probably facing a similar situation. The difference is the people in and around Philippi were waving their family history around much like we show off our collectables today! Paul then lays out his own family history and it is one that cannot easily be matched. Paul comes to the conclusion that all of what he claims about himself is just trash compared to his relationship with Christ Jesus. He then takes it a step further and calls his “pedigree’ nothing more than excrement compared to his relationship with Christ Jesus. Today, it should be the same with you and with me. All our stuff will not get us into heaven and it certainly does not put us in a right relationship with Christ Jesus. In fact, sometimes our stuff gets in the way of our relationship with Christ and with those who are in need. My goal for this coming week is to get rid of some of my “stuff.” Anyone want a good set of golf clubs?? Comments are closed.
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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