1 Timothy 6:6-7 (GW)
6 A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have.
7 We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can’t take anything out of it.
Hoarding is the excessive collection of things and the inability to discard them. No matter how much we collect on our sojourn on earth, we will leave all behind in death.
We all have the habit of unnecessary and excessive collection of people and things, hoarding that often creates physical and emotionally cramped living conditions.
A hoarder’s home is usually filled, with only narrow pathways through stacks of clutter that contaminates the quality of life, completely against Mathew 6:19-21.
I can never forget the feeling of claustrophobia that came over me when I walked into a sister’s house some years ago. At first glance the entry hall looked like a storage room with boxes and bags piled from floor to ceiling, everywhere, including the toilet was loaded. She intended to ship, sell or use those things but they all sat there gathering dust- then I discovered that she’ll pick up anything she saw on the street, mostly in someone’s front yard waiting for rubbish collection-so, one man’s rubbish becomes her “treasure” which she filled her home with, becoming what Exodus 20:3 calls a god.
Buried Alive is a show that highlights someone’s refusal to let go of things from the past. They hold on to everything, including dead pets, stale food, and other items that should have been dumped long ago.
Spiritual hoarders tend to hold onto things from the past which in turn prevents them from moving forward, holding on to memories and feelings, people, and issues that may block us from living purposefully.
We have friends who we know are not good for us, yet, we keep them around, friends that encourage us to gossip, lie, cheat, and sleep around, but we refuse to let them go because we think they are good people deep down. How do you choose who you hang out with? According to Luke 6:12-13, prayerfully!
Contentment refers to satisfaction with one’s circumstances no matter what, as apostle Paul mentioned in Philippians 4:11, that he valued contentment because it indicates Christ’s sufficiency, he preferred, as we should, to be content in what the Lord provides for us because according to Job 1:21, we brought nothing into the world and can’t take anything when we leave. Job 1:21.
We should have no gain-seeking anxiety, which breeds discontent according to Matthew 6:25. We may not realize it yet, but contentment is worth more than all the material possessions any of us can accumulate in a lifetime. Nothing you have or will obtain is worth anything if you are not satisfied inside.
God graces us with material and financial blessings, yet we selfishly consume His generosity on ourselves. He has blessed us to bless others in Acts 20:35 and not to hoard. According to Proverbs 11:24-25, the more we give away, the more the Lord gives us, so why hoard? Why keep for yourself what the Lord gave to enrich, empower, and bless others? There is no gain in hoarding.
Verse 26 adds that God and man will curse the one who hoards God’s blessings.
We can all do a better job at being blessing distributors as God wants us to be. There are many gains in giving according to Luke 6:38.
Shalom