You shall not steal
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...where thieves do not break in and steal
Last Saturday we had the unfortunate discovery of pieces of bike lock in our garage. Yep, they were cut. Gone with the bikes were our camping supplies, the shop vac, and other tools.
And I was upset. Upset that someone would come into our garage and take things that people had given to us as gifts, upset that we had tried to get renters insurance just days before but couldn't because of some of the electrical "features" of our house, upset that we barely got to use these things, and on top of that, upset with us for somehow becoming fairly attached to things we definitely didn't need to live, and can be replaced (Coleman stoves are pretty cool, but they are not a homemade family heirloom). Nate's family is in Louisiana right now helping people whose possessions and homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Life without a good place to live has got to be a lot harder than life without a nice set of pruners and clippers from Ace Hardware.
So, we have taken and are taking reasonable steps to keep "our" things safer. I had always thought of stewardship as buying what's on sale, tithing, and investing time and money wisely, but could stewardship mean leaving lights and music on (we did that before, too), trying to get insurance, or maybe even --as the sheriff suggested-- putting up stickers that say "smile, you're being videotaped" around our home? When do these actions cross the border from stewardship to selfish paranoia?
Are we wrong to own, appreciate, and protect our well-designed computers, good quality sleeping bags, and luxury vehicles (...please think of our rusty truck and notice the somewhat humorous point in my otherwise serious post). I don't think any of these things is inherently wrong. But this week has shown me that it is hard to possess much with a pure heart. And that compared to managing possessions, I probably spend far too little effort storing up treasures in heaven.
6 comments:
That makes me mad to hear about that. RRrrr. Well, I see that you are adopting a good attitude, and that is good.
We have had that a couple of times in our life and it's really hard to get over it. I think about it often when we leave. I feel so bad for you. You just can't stop thinking about how someone could do that to you. You work for what you have and someone just takes for what they have. You wonder why but we always have to remember that God is in control. It's hard though, right? Love&prayers, g'mavw
I remember when our car was broken into. It's scary and, yes, frustrating that someone would do it. It's not like we're wealthy. Then again, maybe we are compared to so much of the world. Your post shows your maturity, Hannah :) I miss you. Maybe after the next school year, you should consider a move to Phoenix :)
Hi Hannah,
Yah that's not fun at all. But you're right - it's hard to own stuff and remember it's not ours to own. Kind of scary too to get robbed. But I'm glad you referenced scripture - that's the way to go - always to God. I love you! Praying for you today too.
Michelle
PS That's weird. I updated my blog and now I can't figure out how to log in. Guess I changed stuff - I show up as kiwifish instead of shellfish. Hmm. Oh well.
Hi Hannah -- first time on your blog for a long time. I was sorry and mad when I heard about your bikes etc. being stolen but now that I read about it I'm sorrier and madder. :-{ But Lynola's right -- looking to treasures in heaven does show a lot of maturity.
And thank you for visiting this weekend! It was fun! I'm still a little sore from our hike. :-)
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