Yard Sale Thoughts

So some of my friends and I just did a yard sale to raise money for World Vision, an organization that does a lot to fight poverty overseas. We raised close to $600, which is great, but I honestly was somewhat humiliated and frustrated while I was there. I HAD SO MUCH STUFF. I filled my entire car, a friend's truck bed, and another friend's back seat with bags of clothes, furniture, dishwear, and other miscelaneous items that I simply do not need in order to live.

I couldn't help but wonder how much more than $600 I could have given to the poor if I wasn't so darn materialistic. A kid is dying every three seconds around the world, often from preventable reasons, and there was expensive clothing that I was selling that I have never even worn before. One dollar will supply one person with clean water for a whole year, and there were movies I purchased so casually that I have never even taken out of the wrapping.

I watched as the expensive presents of Christmas and birthday past were taken of by strangers for 50 cents. A dress jacket that I had bought for probably about $100 was marked down to $5 to be sold, and I pondered what kind of difference $100 would make for a child in Sudan, India, Nicaragua, etc. It didn't make much of a difference in my life.

I write this out of a heart of repentance for my blatant arrogance and self-absorption that is not just a thing of my past, but is still very present with my heart. I will fight to remember the poor around the world, because everything within me desires to pretend that it isn't real... as if I could live my life without being responsible. But I am most definitly responsible. How can I not be when I know kids are starving and I buy a shirt for $20 when I already have 30 shirts, and that $20 could have given clean water to 20 people for a year. They are dying of thirst and I am adding another shirt to my closet to feed my vanity. What does it mean to love my neighbor AS myself?? That wasn't just Jesus' suggestion, but a firm command.

Please pray for me as I fight the wickedness within me. I am currently trying to let the Lord purge me of materialism by selling almost everything that I don't need in my life, and fighting the urge to buy anything new that isn't necessary for my survival so that I can give more away and depend more upon Christ. I hope to widdle my possessions down to what I can fit into my trunk on my trip to California. Why would I need more than that?

I believe there is a reason Jesus spoke about money more than anything else, including heaven. He knew how dangerous it was. He knew how wicked our hearts can be with it. He often puts the love of money and the love of God in opposition. He says you can fit a big camel into a sewing needle easier than a rich person can get into heaven. That is scary. I am going to try to take Him serious.