Ouch!

What I share is what God is convicting me of. A personal journey of discovering what is the real truth and what is our American culture church truth.
I have heard and I have said "God has blessed me with so much." I look at my home, my car, my things and I am thankful. I have since I became a Christ follower in 1977 really had, I thought, a good understanding of the scripture that "all good things come from God." Why poverty still existed I guess I could chalk up to "The poor you will always have with you." What a nice tidy yet unfounded way to deal with this messy problem.
Last night as I looked around in the grocery store and then again at my home I had a revelation. How many shirts, shoes, dresses, pants, jackets do I have that I don't even wear? Every closet, drawer, shelf and cabinet in my home is full of "stuff". Much of it unnecessary to conduct my life in a comfortable way. This time when I looked at my "stuff" I saw it as sin and not as a blessing. For all these years I have lived with a sense of entitlement as an American and as a Christian. I am thankful that God has provided for me and my family. Very thankful. But what part of "give us today our daily bread" includes all this stuff? The blessing that are from the hand of God are those that sustain our lives. Food (not the excess of food), water, shelter. The rest is what I have stored for myself calling it from God so I may avoid my responsibility to the poor.
I am so deeply involved with my stuff that honestly I don't know how to stop this cycle. I hope that to see it for what it is will be the first step..
The Parable of the Rich Fool

13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

16And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.