It was the end of my second garage sale, and I still possessed a bunch of junk. Just like my first garage sale. What went wrong?

My neighbor came over. We surveyed the 1980s vinyl LP records, the rusty yard tools, the unwanted clothing items, a pair of in-line skates, and everything else. 

“Looks like I still own all this stuff,” I complained.

“Actually, it looks like this stuff owns you,” he corrected. Ouch. He was right. The goal of my garage sale was to make money, not get rid of stuff. I was holding on too tightly. In order to give it up, I wanted unreasonable prices. Nobody else agreed about how valuable my stuff was!?

Jesus once said, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

But our possessions disagree. They want to be our master. Our possessions want to possess us. 

Don’t let that happen. Don’t give in to the urge to upgrade everything. Stop expanding storage space for more of the same stuff. Admit this: Holding privileges or having things you never use (because you’re too busy earning the money to pay for them) demonstrates that your stuff owns you.

Repent and reverse that trend before it’s too late. Live with contentment. Stop giving unreasonable value to your stuff. Discover more about God’s riches and how he wants to own you and bless you. Be more generous and willing to share.