Jesus Lacked Possessions and I’m A Hoarder

Jesus lacked possessions and I’m a hoarder. Why did I think that? I just relocated to a new residence. During the move, I could no longer deny the obvious. I am a hoarder. No, not like the ones on those TV shows with trash piled to the ceiling. However, I did find check stubs from 1978! Also, I made three trips to the scrap metal buyer and two to the landfill. While filling up eight tubs of mail that need to be shredded or burned, I thought Jesus lacked possessions and I’m a hoarder.

It was as if everything I had ever touched had stuck to me; I could not part with it. While thinking I might need each article someday, I also thought of Matthew 8:19,20: Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus didn’t need stuff when he was down here on earth. Remember, the rich man has more difficulty getting to heaven than a camel does getting through the eye of a needle. (Matt 19.24; Mark 10.25; Luke 18.25) Was this hyperbole from Jesus? Maybe or maybe not. Scholars have all kinds of theories.

All Things Are Possible

Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27 may often be overlooked regarding the likelihood of a man with possessions reaching heaven. Both authors quoted Jesus saying, “With God, all things are possible.” Luke 18:27 eloquently reads: “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” I hope and believe this is true for hoarders and wealthy men. I have never considered myself rich, but as a hoarder, I plead guilty.
Over forty years ago, I thought I had found my love. I was sorely mistaken and wandered in the wilderness for forty years. As I wandered, I walked away from the right and ran toward the wrong. During all those years, I collected a lot of stuff. I was hoping that stuff would make me feel better. I think it made me feel worse.

Learning to part with stuff is unbelievably difficult for those afflicted with the myth that things will make you better. During this most recent move, it was as though throwing things away was killing me a few cells at a time. Then, I realized it was better for me to throw things away rather than to die and leave it for my children to throw away.

Seven years after truly learning what love was but being unable to hold on to it, it is now time to stop hoarding. It is time to plant flowers where I stand. While unpacking, I broke the lid of a piece of pottery. I felt relieved. Now, I didn’t have to figure out where to place it. I could have tried to glue the broken lid, but it’s not worth it. As time slips away, I must let go of the things that don’t matter and try to repair the things that do.