STUFF - Part II

by Tim Knappenberger

Stuff - Part 1

A few months ago, after a particularly weary day at work, ole' Dad came home to eat and grab a few minuets of rest before heading off to his weekly prayer group. Almost sleeping through the time he needed to leave, Dad groggily jumped up at the last minute and hastened out the door. Know why they put that thing called a rear view mirror on cars? No it's not just for hanging those piny fresh trees on. Silly question, right? Know what happens when you back up without using that thing? Human misery BEYOND belief. You see, I backed into my son's new truck. Scratch that. I backed into my son's love-of-his-life, reason-for-living.

Now, here's what I'd like to say happened:

• Dad kept his composure while gently breaking the news to his son.

• Son completely understood the unintentionalness of the accident.

• Dad and Son embraced knowing that this would only make them both the better for having experienced it.

Yea, right! Here's what really happened:

• Dad jumped out of the car, uttered a choice selection of curses, and then kicked his Son's truck where he had just caved it in. (That's right, kicked an already dented truck!)

• Son flying out of the house, screaming "Oh, no, not my truck, not my truck!!", then throwing whatever he was holding in his hand half way to China, and pacing back and forth in the yard for a good 30 minutes contemplating whether paternal homicide might not be worth life imprisonment.

• Family dog and "emotional barometer", Shadow, beating a hasty retreat to her doggy cage

The neighbors really got a good show. "Turn that TV off, Martha and come looky here at what's going on over at the Knappenberger's!" I'm sure our Christian witness came shinning through. As I said before...Yea, right!

Previously, I asked the question How do we keep from being owned by what we own? A first step, I believe, is that we have to make deliberate, conscious choices about how we will and will not respond to our stuff. Immediately after the fender-bender I reacted on pure gut-level emotion. So did my son. Many would call that expected and natural. Maybe. But the ease with which the upset came for both of us signals attitudes and beliefs that go deep. How AWFUL it is that MY STUFF has been damaged! Life was GOOD before MY STUFF was damaged, now life is BAD. I must FIX my broken stuff to regain peace and "OKness" in my life. None of this is conscious, but I believe it's there nonetheless. If it weren't, why such strong reactions? We feel strongly about the things that matter most to us. Jesus said as much when He told us that our "hearts" and our "treasures" could be found on deposit in the same "vault."

Though I reacted emotionally that night, I also decided to make choices that same night. When my gut counseled "You're too mad to go to the prayer group.", I chose to go anyway. When my heart suggested "You know, Eric could be partly blamed for parking in the middle of the driveway!", I chose to accept my responsibility for failing to look behind me. When my anxities screamed "$400 for repairs!! Where are you gonna come up with $400!!??", I chose to believe God when He says "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5.)

I'm a long way from being free from the servility of stuff, but maybe the choices made that night led me a little closer to the "Promised Land." A final word on "Stuff" next week.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NIV)

Luke 12:33-34

Please drop Tim a line at   knapp@raex.com