I have owned more things in my lifetime than any woman my age has business owning in her lifetime. In fact, in my younger years there was a nagging fear in the back of my mind that I might one day be buried somewhere under a pile of paper, old clothes, and strange kitchen appliances.
Thankfully, a few really brave friends stepped in to help before it was too late. With their help, and some Scriptural perspective, I have overcome. I no longer serve my stuff… it serves me. At least, I think so.
There is the danger that I will look back at this post in ten or twenty years and sadly shake my head, knowing that I had not yet mastered my own stewardship of belongings. Actually, that’s a likelihood. Thank God we keep growing!
Tidying Up Isn’t What I Want to Teach My Kids About Stuff
Don’t get me wrong. I want my kids to learn the art of tidying up. I want them to care for the blessings they are given.
But, far more important than that, I want to teach my kids how to steward their belongings. After all, everything is the Lord’s. The earth and everything in it. The stuff I have, and the stuff my kids have… it was given to us by God, and it ultimately still belongs to him.
So, while I want to teach my kids to make a daily habit of tidying up their belongings, my ultimate desire when it comes to my kids and stuff is to teach them what we learn about stewardship, sharing, and materialism in the Bible.
In teaching my kids about the stewardship of belongings, I have two values I want to communicate:
Materialism and the Bible
1) Stuff is just stuff.
Unless stuff becomes an idol–then stuff is a serious impediment to our relationship with God.
We need clothes. Kitchen appliances and utensils are useful. And, it’s really nice to have couches, tables, and books. In the end, though, the things we own are tools. There are exceptions to this: some special things add beauty to our lives, or remind us of a time past. I think that beauty is a wonderful thing–as long as our quest for beauty through stuff doesn’t own us.
With less stuff in the way, tidying up is so much easier! When we conquer our mountains of stuff, it’s easier to clean, easier to move around, and easier to follow the Lord’s call. It’s amazing how much the things we own can affect our hearing!
I sort and clean out our stuff every 4-6 months. I find this helps keep any avalanches of personal belongings at bay.
In short, stuff is just stuff. Everything we have came from the Lord, and everything we own will stay here when we leave this planet. That’s not to say that I’m not extremely grateful for the things He’s given us. But I want to have the right perspective.
I want my kids to have a right perspective about material goods as well.
What the Bible Says About Sharing
2) Stuff is for sharing.
If everything I own was God’s to begin with, and it’s his now because I’m just stewarding it, then I ought to be willing and able to share when prompted by the Holy Spirit.
I say this partially through clenched teeth, because we use our stuff. Often. However, there is a Scriptural basis to sharing. By sharing, I mean willingly giving, not being compelled to surrender our belongings so that they can be “redistributed” by a central authority.
Consider the following Bible verses on sharing:
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.- Acts 4:32, ESV
…your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. – 2 Corinthians 8:14, ESV
And, my favorite:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. – 2 Corinthians 9:8, ESV
I’ve found that when I’ve shared, God has always replenished our supply, or we have been able to make do with less.
I’ve also found that when we’ve been in true need, God has prompted someone to share with us. God has a marvelous way of working among His people. However, if we’re clinging too tightly to the idea of “mine”, we might miss the wonder of being part of His plan.
That’s the stewardship of belongings we’re working to share with our kids.
I still mess up sometimes. I collect too much, or I stare at my husband as he leads people into our home and hands them something I wanted to keep. However, I know that in the end, it was God’s stuff anyway. I hope my kids see us working to store our treasures in Heaven, rather than here on earth.
What do you think about stuff? How are you teaching your kids to steward their belongings? Does a proper, biblical view of their stuff help your kids do a better job of tidying up?
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Julie says
February 8, 2012 at 6:33 amSo glad you stopped by my blog so I could read yours! “Stuff” has been on my mind too. Through a few recent moves, I have been able to get rid of so much stuff and I have to say our life is much better. I actually have been thinking of writing a post entitled “Stuff is just stuff”, lol. Hopefully you don’t mind me sharing yours instead?! Looking forward to the rest of your Stewardship series 🙂
Julie says
February 8, 2012 at 6:34 amReblogged this on YET TO BE ME.
Julie says
February 8, 2012 at 6:41 amIt’s been a while since I’ve been on WordPress. Is the “Reblog” button ok to use for sharing? Just want to make sure you get the credit for the post.
Danika Cooley says
February 8, 2012 at 6:50 amJulie,
Thanks for reblogging! Yes, the Reblog button is just fine. It shows the post as mine, and directs people here, which I appreciate. I look forward to reading more on Yet to be Me, as well.
It’s so freeing to let go of things, isn’t it? I’m glad you can relate. It’s encouraging to hear that you are effectively stewarding your things.
I regularly reorganize and purge, and yet I still find more things in nooks and crannies. Honestly, I think it’s multiplying! 🙂
~ Danika
mamajoyx9 says
February 8, 2012 at 9:15 amOh, you mean there’s a name for what I do (hoarding). I thought maybe I could call it something a little nicer, like collecting or amassing.
I think I feel a little spring cleaning coming on. Loved the post!!!!
Blessings,
Alyson
Danika Cooley says
February 8, 2012 at 10:23 amAlyson,
Thanks for making me smile! Hmmm… it may be time for another clearing out around here as well! 🙂
~ Danika
Carol Starr says
February 8, 2012 at 10:50 amThanks, Danika! It’s very timely for me, since God is teaching me the same thing – only with a little bit of pressure!! We have discovered mold in our basement, so I need to empty out all our closets, clean really good and get rid of lots and lots of papers and books and other stuff we no longer need. It’s kind of fun to let go of some things, but others will need some prying open of clenched fists. I’m too sentimental about too many things. Got a crow bar anyone?
Danika Cooley says
February 8, 2012 at 10:58 amOh, Carol. I’m sorry you’re going through that! It’s so difficult to get rid of things we hold as important. I hold our books in high regard! I know you do as well.
~ Danika
Amanda Harden Boeding says
February 8, 2012 at 12:32 pmSo true! I’ve had the right thinking about stuff for years and thought I was doing well at living more simply, until this past year when we pretty much had to sort through everything we owned for our big move! I realized I still LOVED my stuff and the security I feel because of it. Aaah! It’s hard to let go; the Lord is so gracious with us in allowing us to learn over time!
mamajoyx9 says
February 8, 2012 at 1:05 pmYou know, it’s my hobby stuff that really kills me. It’s so ironic, considering the small amount of time I can devote to my hobbies, yet my hobbie stuff consumes all the box space under my bed and lines two walls in our ‘community closet.” That’s rediculous!!!!! Oh, and we won’t even talk about books, but that’s an “investment.” 🙂 Uh, investment is NOT just another word for hoarding!!!! Is it? Sigh.
Alyson
Danika Cooley says
February 9, 2012 at 2:01 pmAlyson,
We prayed a lot before beginning a library in our home. We decided that since quality Christian kids’ books aren’t available at the library, and we are homeschooling, it was warranted. We really appreciate our library. However, I work hard to remember that it’s for sharing, and that it doesn’t belong to me. I have our art/homeschool supplies confined to a long closet. Which I’m happy with. 🙂
~Danika
Danika Cooley says
February 9, 2012 at 1:58 pmAmanda,
He is gracious, that is for sure. I do also like some of my stuff (especially those books!). You have my utmost respect.
By the way, we were making banana muffins yesterday when the boys stopped us to have an impromptu prayer meeting for the Boedings. 🙂 You are all loved and prayed over in this home!
~Danika
ourfathersdaughters says
February 8, 2012 at 6:43 pmI love the verse you shared that says (II Corinthians 9:8) “you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” That is the key to dealing with stuff – sharing. When we have abundance – it is not to hoard or bless ourselves, but to bless others by sharing. It is wonderful you are sharing this with your children!
Danika Cooley says
February 9, 2012 at 2:02 pm2 Corinthians 9:8 is one of my favorite verses. 🙂
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
debtfreedecorating says
February 9, 2012 at 8:44 pmI really liked this post! One of the ways we steward and teach our children to do the same is by passing down their clothes without expecting them back. Instead of keeping them or selling them, we just bag em up and send them to whoever is close in age that would fit them soon.
Licia says
May 24, 2019 at 6:48 amOr Malachi 3:10-
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that THERE SHALL NOT BE ROOM TO RECEIVE IT.
I’ve learned that as I view the stuff in my life as the Lord’s, and return to Him a generous portion, sharing freely with others according to their desires, wants, and needs, He does pour down blessings so many that my house is soon overflowing again. It’s almost like I needed to see my stuff the same way we see rainwater- as a cycle of incoming resources (rain/snow), using to grow/clean/refresh, and outgoing (rivers/snowmelt). Sometimes it only comes in small amounts and we treasure every drop, and sometimes it pours down so much that it floods and overflows. When we let water lie stagnant, that’s when it goes nasty. Same with our possessions: when we let our possession lie stagnant, they become clutter.
Kari says
May 24, 2019 at 7:12 amI became a missionary when I was single. I had to do a heavy purge in moving there because I didn’t have enough to warrant a shipping container. That was hard, but I was young and excited about the adventure ahead.
Years later, I married a native and continued living happily there (while collecting stuff) for fifteen years. A few years ago, we moved to the States. It is to be temporary move, so it’s technically left us home-less. No official home there or here, which meant all of our stuff had to either go with us or be sold. Storage was hard to arrange, so we could leave very little; and the boxes of books we were able to leave have already been moved three times since we left. I have high doubts to the books survival with each move (we tend to be more careful with our own stuff) and the ever-present threat of termites and mold.
The vast majority of our stuff was sold. We did not have a lot to begin with, and I remember marveling at our first “garage sale” that my “life” fit into the sanctuary of our church. I tried to hold on to some things and God basically ripped them out of my hands (i.e. by the item breaking as I tried to pack it).
Each purge has been painful, especially the last one as I wondered how we would ever have money to replace all that we had to get rid of; but the result was glorious. Such freedom, and in so many ways. Physically, mentally. (Our family of six moved to the states with only nine large suitcases and our carry-on’s.)
As painful as it was to let go, I discovered that after it was gone, I was fine. Stuff really is just stuff, and not having a lot of it forces me to depend on God instead of myself. While that is challenging (and there are hard days!), it’s also relieving because I’m not the one responsible. God is; and I know that He is also abundantly good and has already provided all that I need for life and godliness.