We’re having a yard sale. It’s a life changing decision for us. Ok, well the yard sale itself isn’t so much the game-changer… it’s the journey we’re on that is.
It all started with the Possessions chapter in The Seven Experiment by Jen Hatmaker. I’m just going to go ahead and tell you a lot of this blog post is taken from her because she sums it up far better than I can.
Side note: Jen, (is it okay if I call you by your first name? I hope so!), don’t sue me for copyright infringement please. We’re working for the kingdom here. And people will want your book after this. Amma right? I’m right. Ok. Let’s keep going.
Let me go ahead and burst your bubble (ours were bursted at the beginning of this journey).
I wish I could make that image flicker. I mean, NEWS FLASH: I’ve never had to skip a meal because there wasn’t enough money. I live in a house with a sturdy roof and heat. I’ve never gone a day without health insurance. I’ve thrown away food I didn’t eat, clothes I’ve hardly worn, trash that will never disintegrate… Have you? If your household makes $35,000 a year, you’re in the top 4% of the world. $50,000? Top 1%.
We are the richest people in the world, praying to get richer. We are blaming “those at the top” for our problems. Making excuses for not being generous, because “I don’t make THAT much money.” What does it communicate to the rest of the world, when half the world's population lives on $2 a day, and we can’t manage to live fulfilling lives on $25,000 a year? (taken from p. 13 with some add-ins from yours truly)
Read Matthew 19:23:
It all started with the Possessions chapter in The Seven Experiment by Jen Hatmaker. I’m just going to go ahead and tell you a lot of this blog post is taken from her because she sums it up far better than I can.
Side note: Jen, (is it okay if I call you by your first name? I hope so!), don’t sue me for copyright infringement please. We’re working for the kingdom here. And people will want your book after this. Amma right? I’m right. Ok. Let’s keep going.
Let me go ahead and burst your bubble (ours were bursted at the beginning of this journey).
We are the richest people in the world, praying to get richer. We are blaming “those at the top” for our problems. Making excuses for not being generous, because “I don’t make THAT much money.” What does it communicate to the rest of the world, when half the world's population lives on $2 a day, and we can’t manage to live fulfilling lives on $25,000 a year? (taken from p. 13 with some add-ins from yours truly)
Read Matthew 19:23:
“It is easier for a CAMEL to get through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Well dang.
Pause. Hmm. Ok. Well… Wow. Let’s see here… Hmm. ::Scratches head:: ::Fidgets in seat::
Let me be clear that Jesus is not saying that being rich is evil. If you read the rest of the chapter (and other parts of the Bible), you’ll understand that Jesus is saying that riches are a distraction from what matters. Riches cause us to change what we cherish... What we should cherish. Therefore, it is not easy for someone who is distracted by excess and who cherishes the wrong things to get into heaven.
Alright… so maybe I’m being a little too spiritual for you… and that’s okay. Or maybe you’re like me and we’ve just read that so many times that we’re almost immune from its persuasion. Then how about this?
Hatmaker just lays it out for us on p. 80-81:
“Do we hate the gross abuses money inspires over mankind? Do we hate the whispers of greed and entitlement we see in our children, mirror images of our own affections? Do we hate the comparison game money feeds off of? Do we hate the inequity that gives our kids rooms jammed with possessions while 16,000 other parents will bury their starved children today?” [::jaw drop::]
---OR----
“Do we hate these questions? Would we rather spin this or twist this or shove it off on other people? [Are you coming up with reasons right now about how this doesn’t apply to us?] Do we hate being challenged to care for the poor, since they didn’t earn this money we worked for? Do we hate the idea of parting with things? Do we hate being called ‘rich people?’”
Let’s make a chart (actually, Jen made it for us, and she stole it from Jesus, haha!):
So our small group asked ourselves, how can we intentionally make choices daily to fall on the right side of this spectrum? We can sell our stuff and give to the poor. Choose to be generous when choosing what to give. Live below our means… I mean, we don’t need errrr-ything. We can give. Intentionally choose not to buy something on the premise of “I’ve worked hard, I deserve this.” Be simple. Share, so others can do the same. Always err on the side of giving more if we’re not sure how much to give. This is what we want to do… so we started purging our stuff. For seven days we got rid of seven items a day (which is a challenge in the book)... and then we had to figure out what to do with it all. Some of it we just threw away (i.e. expired medicine, food, make up), some of it we donated to people we knew that needed it, and the rest… we need to sell. Enter our yard sale. :)
Disclaimer time: Are we selling our houses and downsizing so we can be more generous? Well, no, not at this time. Do we still buy stuff? Yes. Guilty! Are we becoming extra-crunchy granola people? Maybe, maybe not. :) :) This is a big elephant. We know that. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.
So, sweet friends, dear readers, our tribes, our villages… don’t you want to join us? Purge your excess? Sell your stuff and give to the poor? Or maybe you just want to go shopping at our yard sale! Maybe you’ve been looking for a new coffee table? Consider shopping at our yard sale and then give the money you saved by buying our super cheap stuff to someone in need. Or maybe give someone in need $30 to come shop? I don’t know. We’re just over here taking bites of our elephants… will you join us?
Get rid of 7 things each day this week (or 49 things in one day - whatever!) It’s a lot easier than you think. Then, donate your gently used stuff to our yard sale. See our flyer for more details:
Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy… [i.e. the attic]. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven [...] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy [read: generous], then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy [read: stingy] then your whole body will be full of darkness. [...] No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despite the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Disclaimer time: Are we selling our houses and downsizing so we can be more generous? Well, no, not at this time. Do we still buy stuff? Yes. Guilty! Are we becoming extra-crunchy granola people? Maybe, maybe not. :) :) This is a big elephant. We know that. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.
So, sweet friends, dear readers, our tribes, our villages… don’t you want to join us? Purge your excess? Sell your stuff and give to the poor? Or maybe you just want to go shopping at our yard sale! Maybe you’ve been looking for a new coffee table? Consider shopping at our yard sale and then give the money you saved by buying our super cheap stuff to someone in need. Or maybe give someone in need $30 to come shop? I don’t know. We’re just over here taking bites of our elephants… will you join us?
Get rid of 7 things each day this week (or 49 things in one day - whatever!) It’s a lot easier than you think. Then, donate your gently used stuff to our yard sale. See our flyer for more details:
Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy… [i.e. the attic]. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven [...] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy [read: generous], then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy [read: stingy] then your whole body will be full of darkness. [...] No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despite the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
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