Are you a collector? By that I mean do you collect specific objects as you see and like them? For example, I have a friend that looks for unique teaspoons that she displays in a wooden rack. Another friend collects teapots of all sizes and shapes. Frank loved lighthouses and boats. I used to collect Precious Moments figurines, Noah’s Arks, Longaberger baskets and Cat’s Meow places I had visited. It is great fun when you first begin, and when friends help you add to your “stash”. Maybe you’ve even had hopes of your collection becoming highly valuable and desired “someday”. That probably will never happen and it isn’t long before finding a place to display your collection becomes a problem. You can only find so much room for baskets and boats! Actually, while there is nothing morally wrong with “collections”, I have decided that beginning a collection of anything is the worst thing you can do! At some point, it becomes necessary to get rid of your collection. Family and friends are usually not interested in the things that were once important to you. I tried unloading some of the above items at a garage sale one time and people didn’t even look to consider a purchase! It’s pretty sad when you can’t even give them away!
Most of us are such blessed people. God has bestowed the comforts of life to us and frequently, we are not even mindful of what we have. Why is it that we find difficulty in being content with what we have? Paul exhorts us to be content. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation; whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”. (Philippians 4:11-13)
Jesus taught us “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, whether moths and rust destroy and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moths or rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. (Matthew 6:19-21)
“Lord, let me be a collector of Your wisdom, a gatherer of Your grace. Fill my reaching arms with Your love. All the treasures I need are with You in Heaven”.