Retail Therapy?

Here's a question I've recently asked myself: If I acquire "it" will I be happier?

The "it" could be anything - car, house, toys, finances, prestige... for me the current "it" is a replacement truck for our somewhat dilapidated Chev. Sure, it has 300,000kms and it's rusty and dented and the seats are worn, but it runs and it pulls our little Boler trailer and I don't really care if the dog jumps in and his feet are muddy. For that matter I don't mind if my feet are muddy when I jump in. 

So, would a new truck make me happier? Really? Deep-down happy? Would I be more at peace with myself and my world? Would I be kinder to my family, my neighbor, my world because I have a new "it"? 

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not saying we shouldn't buy new things. Money is a form of love and the free exchange of this love puts food on tables and is a part of healthy communities. And things do wear out and need to be replaced. And there are various things we need to live and thrive and grow.

My question is about motivation - am I buying stuff (or acquiring any other "it") to fill an emptiness inside, to soothe feelings of dis-ease, to fit in, to appear affluent enough to have value? If so, then at the end of the day I will go to bed still feeling empty even with a new truck in the driveway. Who we are is NEVER affirmed by what we have or do not have. The treasure of our being is an unchangeable gift from God; the outside world can neither tarnish nor enhance it.

Jesus said, "What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?" (Luke 9.25 - "The Message")


Yeah. We need enough, but after you have enough, then what? More simply does not make us happier. Studies have shown that the happiness factor peaks at "enough." Happiness, it would seem is about what we have on the inside and letting what is on the inside shine to the outside.


So, maybe I will replace the truck - because the old Chev is a bit shaky. But I know that the joy of my life comes not from shiny things on the outside, but from the brilliance of love on the inside!

Pastor Bill


If you were to

let go

of all

your things

you would be

no less

Smile and breathe

a deep breath

out...

and in...

and again

and give thanks

[First published March 13, 2013]