Downsizing … of Sorts - Martin Wiles

Then he said, “I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.” Luke12:18 NLT

“Where are we going put it? I think we’re turning into hoarders.”

My wife and I both have asked the question and made the statements. Our love for antiques—especially furniture—keeps us adding to our collection and trying to fit them into a small home. But on one of our moves, we decided we would downsize, of sorts. Not that we were going to sell anything. We would simply transfer some things from our home to our storage shed.

There were a few items we decided we could live without seeing or using. We loaded them into the back of our SUV and transported them several miles away. Perhaps our kids will want them someday. Or, maybe we’ll once again live in a larger place before we die. And of course, all of our stored pieces were assets we could sell if we needed money.

Jesus told about a rich man who was a hoarder, but he wasn’t into downsizing. He was into upsizing. His crops produced more than usual. His barns were full. There was nothing for him to do but build larger barns, store his goods, and eat, drink, and be merry. Life was good … or so he thought ... until God confronted him and told him his life would end that night.

Whether we downsize in actuality, we need to at least downsize in our thinking. Possessions are for this life. I will always love antiques and continue collecting them—and sell a few along the way. But I’m intelligent enough to know I can’t take them to heaven with me.

God gives us things of this life to enjoy, but they are for earth, not heaven or the new earth. Possessions are tangible, corruptible, breakable, and susceptible to theft. Placing our security or faith in them will always lead to disappointment.

Possessions can bring joy, but God expects us to use them to help others and also advance his Kingdom. Seeing what we have as temporary helps us do this with the right attitude, avoiding the rich man’s. He was selfish and thought only of himself. And, if by chance, our possessions turn our focus from God, we need to downsize.

Don’t let your possessions possess you. Downsize.

Father, I thank you for all you have given me. Help me use them to glorify your name and advance your work in this world. 

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