Stuff

The masses stiffened.  A tremor moved through the group.  Hundreds standing side by side.  Complete strangers to one another, yet all united by a common goal: to buy stuff.  A crowd of people two isles away began yelling, pushing and grabbing.  Immediately those around me began to moan and groan to the manager and employees standing nearby.  A few tried to slip past the caution tape and were chastised by the manager and the other shoppers in the vicinity.  Tension was growing, as patience receded.  it was a quarter till midnight on Thanksgiving day.  I had seen an advertisement for the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the paper.  I thought the price was reasonable and just arrived at my local Wal-Mart.  What was I thinking.  Hundreds of people filled the isles for sales that would begin in five hours.  I did my best to politely squeeze through the mobs to the location dvds would be sold in a few minutes.  So many people, and they were all there to buy stuff in order to save a few bucks... but this wasn't an ordinary trip to the store for groceries, there was hate, greed, and distrust in the air.  The masses stiffened, and suddenly the group lurched forward.  Hundreds of people rushing into an even smaller area pushing, yelling, and scrambling for the deals some had waited hours obtain.


I was disgusted.  Disgusted with the people around me and with myself.  I found myself getting drawn into the same mindset others had.  I'm supposed to be different.  Supposed to be focused on higher things.  Hebrews 13:5 reminds me to "keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  The Bible is a very anti-materialistic book...  Do I live my life in a way that reflects that.  I sometimes forget that Christ is the greatest treasure I will ever receive, and I did not even have to go to the store and wait in line for fifteen minutes fearing for my life.   I sometimes need to be reminded of my priorities.  

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:19-21

I can't help but wonder what would the church look like here in America, if we Christians were as serious about the infinite reward we have in faith as all those people who waited in lines for hours... outside... in the cold, just to get some temporal thing.

Blessings,