9/28/2020
“Good luck purging your treasures!” exclaimed our neighborhood’s HOA email in reference to the garage sale we would be having this weekend. There’s usually one in the spring and another one in the fall; it’s a community event to clean out our used items and try to sell them to other people who are looking for a good deal. I’ve never operated a garage sale as an adult, but I have participated in a few when I was younger.
I didn’t need the email reminder because we have lots of stuff that I’ve been wanting to get rid of, and our spring garage sale was cancelled for Covid-19 reasons. (One day I’ll post something that’s not Covid related...probably the year 2025 at the earliest). We’re not hoarders, and we just moved to a new house a couple years ago. You may think that means we don’t have a lot of stuff, but that’s not true. I’m selling any winter clothes that survived the hand-me-down journey through 3 boys and a few coats. We also have furniture, home decor, baby items, toys, and books...lots of books. I guess we do have a lot of stuff...but treasures?
The thing from that email that caught my eye was “treasures” especially considering National Talk Like a Pirate Day was just a few days ago (Saturday, September 19th), and our family recently watched the Veggie Tales “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.” Interesting how treasure talk makes me think of pirates instead of heaven. I don’t even live near the seas! It would be pretty cool to find a treasure map and dig up a box full of gems and gold, but I think pirates actually did more plundering and imprisoning.
Soon our garage was full of treasures we thought other people would need. These items held memories for our family...like the picture frames that once made a hot air balloon collage and the ocean playmat that reminded me of my 4 precious children. Treasured memories would slowly fade away without an object to remind me of those times.
My husband and I took our time to price everything at a rate that left treasure hunters room to negotiate a lower price. This process took a lot of time...gathering items, pricing them, cleaning up anything that was dirty, finding shelves and tables to display everything, and of course, spending a couple days bargaining and selling our treasures.
Was it worth it?
Yes, not because we made money, but because we got rid of our used junk. Ok...ok...I called it junk instead of treasures this time.
It’s the way we see it. At one time, we gathered things that we needed, wanted, or were given to us. Now, we don’t have any use for these things. We must say bye to them, or we become collectors of the world.
Our treasures in heaven are the ones that matter. It’s interesting how hard we work to acquire junk just to sell it off as treasure. We should be working harder to gain heavenly treasures that can’t mold, rot, or be stolen. No one can ruin or take away our faith, hope, or love.
How do we work hard to gather this kind of treasure that we won’t ever need to sell? We practice all those Sunday school answers: read your Bible, go to church, be kind to one another, and sing praise songs. I find it helps to have an action plan or else these holy disciplines become mundane or even shallow.
Make it a goal in your life to...
...not only read the Bible, but also study and meditate on God’s word
...not only go to church, but also get involved and learn something from the sermon
...not only be kind to others, but also show great hospitality and give wisely
...not only sing praise songs, but also use your heart and soul in full worship of our Savior.
When God truly is your heart’s priority, you’ll notice your earthly treasure chest getting less important and your heavenly treasure chest starting to overflow.
Proverbs 15:16
"Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it."
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
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