Stuff Does Not Count

 

 ~~~Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time~~~

~~~  Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23~~~ Psalm 90 ~~ Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11~~Luke 12:13-21~~~

For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart
with which he has labored under the sun?

What are you storing up for later?
There is no reason to stockpile stuff. When later comes
you will not be able to take it with you.
What are you anxious about today?
There is no reason to be anxious; it will pass.

Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.

It is better to keep our eyes on heaven...our final destination.
All earthly things are passing; they are not permanent.
Not one thing you acquire here on earth can you take with you.
The true treasures we should be storing up
cannot be seen with the human eye.

Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want;
the move space you have the smaller it gets.
We keep adding more and more to our barns until we out grow them.

...one’s life does not consist of possessions.
It is so easy to get caught up in our stuff...
we come to believe that our stuff represents who we are.
We forget that we came into this world with nothing and we will
 leave this world with nothing.
None of our earthly possessions can enter into heaven with us.
The ancient tombs are filled with earthly possessions...
the mummified body may be intact, but the person is not there.
 

 

...put on the new self...

The new self is free. The new self is the simple
self realization of who you were created by God to be.
The new self knows that a bigger barn filled with more things
will not get you to heaven any faster.

God will not care how big your barn became.
He will not care how much stuff you were able to store up.

He does care about the relationship you have developed with him.
God cares about those things hidden from sight.

Blessings come in the realization
that stuff does not count in the eyes of God.
You will not be delivering an inventory of your possessions when you die.
Blessings come in the simple self.