I went yesterday to our storage unit to pay my monthly bill. The facility is huge! They have over 800 units there and last time I asked them, they had a total of 7 units available. How could so many people have so much junk?

When we moved here to Rogers from the Philippines, we had to get a storage unit to store all our stuff until we were able to move into a house. Well, we’ve been in the house now for three months and we’re still trying to get all our stuff out of the unit. We’re close… but not there yet! With my payment yesterday, I now have another five weeks until the next deadline. Sometimes I feel like my stuff is more trouble than it’s worth!

Paul had something to say about our ‘stuff.’ In 1 Timothy 6, he warns his young disciple, Timothy, to not get caught up with wanting more and more earthly belongings. He wrote:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8, ESV)

Paul goes on in the following verses and warns that wealth is a temptation to be avoided (9). He also says that the lure of money has caused many to wander from their faith (10).

If I have to keep a storage unit for my ‘stuff’ because it won’t fit in my house, am I living in contentment? Paul’s not saying that material things are wrong, but that they are less important than focusing on our spiritual well-being. So for me, I will not allow my physical and material needs to overshadow my personal, spiritual development. I must pursue the things of God above and before STUFF! And I must learn to be content with whatever God provides for me!

How about you? Is stuff cluttering up your life so that you don’t have time for God? I hope not, but more than likely, you are struggling with this too. Ask God to help you to be content with the stuff you already have, and ask him to continually remind you that all that stuff you have really belongs to Him anyway.