Closet Hoarders

Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value.

Matthew 6:19-20 TPT

It's December and like most people in first-world countries, we are pulling out boxes, tubs, and/or crates of holiday decorations and lights. Lights typically represent something pleasant. As a whole, we're tired of Covid and lockdowns and vax/no-vax debates and just long for something good. The evidence is that for weeks, we have seen posts on social media of people who decorated their homes for Christmas long before Thanksgiving. 

As we finish putting away our Fall/Thanksgiving decor and bring out the Christmas/New Year/Winter boxes, I am struck with the reality of closet hoarding and what is my purpose in all this. Am I giving greater value to earthly treasures than to heavenly treasures?  Do I find my identity in Christ or is my identity found in how good everything looks for the holidays? I'm not in any way saying it's wrong to decorate, we just need to make sure our priorities in life are in the proper order. Is our first order Jesus?

As I was digging through a closet today, I wondered, "Are there closets in Heaven?" I'm inclined to think there are not. After all, what would we store there? What are heavenly treasures? I think they are things like the times we share the Gospel with a lost soul or extend the love of Jesus to a hurting heart or make provision for the least of these. How do you put those things in a closet? And what are we stuffing our closets with now - past hurts? Unforgiveness? It's time to clear out the junk and make room for those things that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value.

Prayer:

Father,

           Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what You would have us do for others in Your Name. Soften our hearts and clear our minds from the clamor and call of this world so that we only live and move and have our being in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen