Monday, April 7

Less of Self, More of God

Rev. Tim Travers

Reading

Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” 

Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’ 

“Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool!  Tonight, you die.  And your barnful of goods—who gets it?’  That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”
Luke 12:15-21 (The Message)

Reflection

The word self gets to the core of what’s at stake when consumerism takes control of our lives, and it brings it home to me in a deeply spiritual way. I don’t need more stuff in my life. In fact, when I add more stuff, I’m just adding more self. Owning too much is likely to hinder my relationship with God, not enrich it.

Recently, Jacki and I spent some time going through things in our garage and closets. Our goal? To eliminate what we don’t need and organize what we’re keeping. As we began, I got excited about the prospect. I knew I’d be able to see, access, and use things more easily if I had fewer items arranged in a more functional way.

But I think there was another reason I had the itch to do some spring cleaning. Something was telling me that if I can’t say goodbye to some of my things, it’s probably because I don’t trust my future without them. Sometimes I find myself putting more trust in my preparedness than in God’s abundant providence.

Even if I haven’t used something in over a year, it can still be hard to let it go. I don’t want to be wasteful. Ironically, my overdeveloped sense of frugality can end up getting in my way just as much as greed. Eventually, I realize the item might be more useful to someone else than it is to me—and then I’m fine with saying goodbye. I figure that’s good stewardship because it can bless someone else.

Even so, letting go of little pieces of my cluttered self blesses me—not because it creates more space in the garage or checks a stewardship box, but because it reminds me to make more space in my life for God.

Prayer:
Loving God, fill me up with your presence. Help me eliminate from my life what is unnecessary, unhelpful, or unholy. Make my life less full of self. Replace greedy tendencies with a quickness toward generosity. Create space in me where you can do your work. Teach me to store up only treasures that nourish my soul and lead me to love others. Lord, as I declutter my life, remind me that only you can satisfy the deepest longings of my heart. Amen.