Stuff

I have a lot of stuff.

I have stuff on shelves, stuff in cabinets and stuff tucked away in closets.

Some stuff has been used before, but won’t be used again. Some stuff is used often. Some stuff will never see the light of day, until it’s time to move it from one place to another. It’s just kept around for keeping.

My stuff isn’t to the level of some. I don’t have a storage unit full of things representing a past life, and at this point, our attic is empty. Yet, I still have so much. Some would say too much. And I know I have a lot when I have to use the word “stuff” instead of specifics.

I was looking at all of this stuff this morning after I read about one of the richest men on earth coming face to face with his Creator. The wealthy man, perfect by anyone else’s optics, asked what he needed to do to inherit eternity. His Creator told him he had to give his wealth of accumulations away to the poor and to follow the Creator toward a new life of freedom from possessions and worldly stability. Upon hearing the news, the man wept and went away because he couldn’t give it up.

And I wonder if I would also be that man.

How tightly do I cling to things? My stuff.
The stuff on my shelves?
The stuff in my cabinets?
The stuff in my closet?

Could I give it away if the Creator of the world stood toe to toe with me and asked me to give it all up?
Could you?

-Cliff

Cliff’s Note: ‘Hold on loosely’ to the things of earth, but how in my heart when it has no hands, but instead has soul-ties, which seem to cling ever-more tightly.