Saturday, April 25, 2015

Stuff and Nonsense

It's sort of like repeating myself-- stuff and nonsense. So much stuff is nonsense! Today I'm working at a coffee shop in the mall. And I am struck by all the stuff. I needed some of it, that's why I'm here today. But I find as I walk around, that much of what is displayed seems rather silly. Inventions to keep us wanting and working and measuring and comparing. And distracted. I think actually, it mostly keeps us distracted, focusing on the here and now, the tangible things that we can get and have and keep, the glitter that distracts us from the needs of people around us and our own need to continually run to God for grace and wisdom and strength. After all, it's much easier to chase something tangible.

Not that I think everything is bad. It isn't. We need things to live, and when you pack up a house you see that you may need a lot of things to live. Pans to cook in, plates to eat off, clothes to wear, blankets to stay warm, chairs to sit in. But as I sit here I am reminded of Michael Card's song about the man who was owned by all he possessed. And I don't want to be that person.

I want to run when things start filling my time and my mind. I was to flee when my days are full of improving my house and fixing my stuff. I want to look around when I see my vision is full so full of the tangible that I can't see the unseen, I can't appreciate the supernatural, I can't fathom a reality beyond my own. I want to stay on a road that takes me where I want to go... and I think that road only stops by the mall occasionally.

Yes, coming to the mall was good for me.... a deep reminder of what really matters. And what doesn't.

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