Life is More Than Things and Money

Life is More Than Things and Money

The way I process internal matters is by writing and sharing. I do that instead of getting mad at the world or God. There are times I wish I could cry at depth to release my deepest hurts. But instead I tend to think my way up and down and around the subject. Then it does not trouble me.

The recent theft of my backpack from the library with those things I held most valuable has thrust me into reflecting on my attitudes and outlooks about possessions. So please bear with me as I process and share with you.

I admit that I am responsible. The signs in the library said do not leave your things unattended. I took that risk many dozen times over the course of 5 months when I went to the bathroom. Then one time I paid the price for taking that risk. I knew it was risky and that is why I carried my laptop with me to the bathroom.

When I announced this loss to my friends and requested prayers I wanted it to be returned to me. That has not happened yet. It is still possible but not probable. I need to move forward and deal with the consequences of my actions. That includes grieving the loss and replacing the things.

This incident led me to recall a simpler time in my life when I drove back and forth to college in Atlanta from my hometown of Houston. I could put all my possessions in the trunk and back seat of my little car. The dorm rooms did not offer much storage.

A while later I asked the question, “What is there to life besides things and money?” It seemed that the purpose of going to college was to get a degree then to get a job in order to earn money then to buy things. The more money a person had the more things they could buy. But I wondered if that materialism and consumerism the whole story. Is there more to life? I learned that besides stuff there are ideas, principles and concepts. These are categorized under the labels of love, beauty, creativity, spirituality, thinking, science, education, relationships and much more.

When I looked around my life it seemed that most people had the orientation that getting lots of things. That rat race to get things was with the silent promise that such ownership will make them happy. But I knew others that had plenty of things and they did not seem happy.

Part of my spiritual quest was rooted in this seeking for an alternative to materialism. That is why I was so attracted to the New Age cult in the 1970s. I would have remained with them but I slid into drug abuse. That triggered my mother’s prayers. God answered her prayers by leading me to a church based drug rehab. That put my spiritual quest on a Christian path.

Decades after starting my Christian walk of faith I found myself with an overabundance of books. These were things that were choking my living space. I worked for 12 years at the help desk of the student computer lab in a seminary. At the student center they had a table where people could dump off books they no longer wanted. I took home many of them with the thought that it might be useful for reference or I may find time to read it someday. At one point all my bookshelves were full and my kitchen cabinets too. I had hundreds of books stacked all over the place. It got where it was a safety hazard to walk from my kitchen to the bathroom. I could trip and hurt myself. So after prayer God pointed me to a man that was taking up a collection of books to ship to Africa for libraries. I gave him about 30 boxes of books. And still I had an abundance left over.

When I became the house manager of a sober house I moved from a one bedroom apartment full of books to just one bedroom. I gave away and left behind hundreds of books.

When I left the sober house in late June my things were put into a Public Storage unit. It is mostly books with some clothes and office supplies. There is a desktop computer and a reading chair. The price is 90 dollars a month if it is paid on time. Mostly I have paid late and with the fee it has been 110 dollars. Then there is the dirty little secret. The November bill was not paid nor has the December bill been paid. And there was a fine. My things are scheduled to go up for public auction if the bill of 277.50 is not paid before December 22.

I have not had contact with those things for 5 months so I have learned to live without them. I began with just one green duffle bag that had wheels. During June and July I pulled and carried it around for many miles and it wore out. I got a brown and black duffle bag that I use to store my things at the homeless shelter and it is nearly worn out. And a few days ago I had a black backpack that was stolen.

This is a tale of continually reducing my possessions over the course of the last 5 years. I am now at the lowest point. Considering all the things in the storage unit what I pray about the most and would be impossible to replace are about 30 large mind maps that are related to ministry and are on scrolls of laminated pages or brown paper. Those represent thousands of hours of work over the course of many years.

Many times over the years and especially since I have been homeless God waited until the last minute to meet my need. That caused my faith in Christ to be stretched and improved.

I continue to grasp on to the hope that the storage bill will be paid. There is a full closet and dresser of clothes as well as personal photos I would like to recover.

I had mentioned in previous messages that I have been working on a paid project to create a crowd funding site for a client. That project could have taken 3 days but after 3 weeks there are still delays. He has other work for me that I was counting on to pay this bill. As the deadline approaches I ask for your special prayers. Or maybe God will raise up a sponsor for this urgent bill. The best thing I can do after that bill is paid is to go into the unit. Then I need to give away or throw away half the contents to reduce my bill by half. This is yet another pruning of my possessions.

I am writing this message on December 12, 2014. This is the middle of the Christmas shopping season. Honestly Christmas is my least favorite holiday. I dislike all the hype around shopping and giving things. The excesses of materialism and consumerism are on display. Our culture and economy go nearly crazy during December. People get worn out and frustrated keeping up with all the additional tasks added to their already busy life. I do not witness much love, joy or peace.

I will grant you that money is necessary and important. But if the chief purpose of acquiring money is to buy and consume things then that is not healthy or satisfying. If money and things were the key to happiness then those who are wealthy would be the happiest people. All the residents of Hollywood and Palm Springs would be content and satisfied. Based on the celebrity updates it seems that bliss is not their constant state of mind. There are real internal needs for spirituality, community service and personal growth that are not found on the shelves of any store. Walmart, Amazon and Target cannot giftwrap what is really needed for the interior of a person.

I need to provide some more context here. I am 61 years old so that means I was a teen during the 1960s. That crazy era had many subtle impacts on how I view life and myself today. It was cool to be anti-establishment in your thinking. One of the mantras of that generation was Question Authority. The advent of the Love Revolution held out such hope for a peaceful and caring society. The bad news is that the drug culture corrupted the innocence and idealism. We Baby Boomers could have caused World Peace because we had the numbers and spunk. But instead we went down the slippery slope to become greedy and gluttonous couch potatoes.  

As another matter of context I am single and I have never been married. I have never had children to buy presents for during the holidays. Yet as an outsider to that dynamic I wonder if parents attempt to sooth their guilt by giving lots of gifts. There is a saying the love is spelled t-i-m-e. What each child wants is quality time with each parent. I know that is easy to say and hard to do. There are lots of websites and books with proven and practical recommendations.

At some level my ongoing challenge is to reconcile the ideals presented in the Bible with the practical needs to pay bills and the real hurts of those around me. I have come to understand that inside of me reside an idealist, a pragmatist and a realist. Each one has a loud voice and a different worldview. My ongoing challenge is to honor all sides, referee disputes and seek to find workable collaborations. As I can do that them my life takes on better dynamic balance and I have more value to offer as I serve others.  

I request your earnest prayers for the following matters.

May the Public Storage bill be paid before December 22.

May I get in there and prune it to half before the first of the year in order to reduce my bill.

May most of the valuable items that were in my stolen backpack be replaced.

May God continue to teach me valuable lessons about materialism, possessions and stewardship.