Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Everyday Stewardship  /  Ash Wednesday – 2016

The bumper sticker read “He who dies with the most toys wins!” I am sure you have seen this saying as well and it stands as a humorous reminder of the culture in which we live where we tend to accumulate stuff to provide happiness and meaning to our lives. Storage facilities have sprung up everywhere because we can’t seem to part with all our stuff. Even if we have no use for some of our stuff at the present moment, we seem convinced that we might need it in the future. How could we ever handle getting rid of something that we may someday actually need?

Of course, good stewards realize they really own anything. It all belongs to God. There will be those things that one could ask why God would want to possess them. But it is not so much that God owns them, but they are not ours because we are called to offer them to Him. My son will ask, “Even my video games?” To play them takes time, some talent, and they aren’t normally free, so they did require some treasure. Like most human manufactured stuff, there was humanity that went into the creation of and the use of those video games. So my response is certainly, “Yes, even those video games!”

The reality is that you and I were born naked and with nothing. We will die naked and with nothing. If we really could possess something material, there would be a way to take it with us. But alas, it all slips through our grasp and passes away. And even though all of us came from dust and to dust we shall return, through Jesus Christ we will live forever in a perfect state. Can’t say that for any of your stuff! Sorry, GameStop.