Today's challenge, should you choose to accept it is this...go through your home and count the number of toothbrushes you have, then count the pairs of socks...don't forget laundry baskets, under the couch, under the bed etc!
The purpose of this little exercise it twofold...
#1) we live in a society that values 'stuff' and as we have begun the long arduous task of inventorying the contents of our home, we were stunned by the fact that we owned 34 toothbrushes (many of them brand new) and 240 pairs of socks!
#2) we as a family are re-thinking the value of 'stuff'- how many pairs of those socks that I was just too busy, tired, lazy (you choose your own word if you'd like) to fold and put away could have been warming the toes of children in Yugoslavia this winter? How many of those 'extra, just in case' toothbrushes could have been sent to Brazil to aid in humanitarian efforts there?
I have been in an introspective mood today as I have mulled these questions...so, how about it? Go count those toothbrushes and socks!
you make the perfect point; we all have things that we don't need, and it's wasteful to hoard things that we neither need nor really use. I don't own many clothes (I do laundry almost every other day xD) but I know my room is probably filled with things I don't need. I think it's a necessary idea for everyone to do some spring cleaning every now and then, and ask themselves "do I really need this?" I think I'd find far more "no"s than "yes"s for that question. The only thing we really need is God. True, this society places great emphasis on the accumulation of "stuff," so maybe it's time to remind ourselves and each other that we're not of this society; we're foreigners, strangers in a strange land. The only things we really need are also the things we can never really lose. God, love, companionship, the daily gift of our lives each morning, the beautiful day God has created just for our enjoyment. Truly God has given us more than we could ever ask for, and it's up to us to be thankful for the things we do need, and be a little with stingy with the things we don't.
ReplyDeletethanks for the thought for today. :) I hope you all have a good night, and I'm praying for each and every one of you.
lots of love,
~Kyle