A quote I’ve been particularly fond of for some time now comes from Michael Yaconelli’s book Dangerous Wonder: “There is always the possibility of discovery just beyond irritation and annoyance.” Sometimes it takes frustration to spark growth and discovery.
Having recently become more aware of the amount of possessions I have, my ‘stuff’ has become an “irritation and annoyance.” And I think it goes deeper for me than just having lots of stuff… Susan Howatch talks of the mystery behind the mystery. There’s something deeper lying behind my current disgust of materialism. And, perhaps more important, not just my frustration, but: Why do I hold onto stuff like I do?; Why don’t I let go of old stuff?; What is it that makes me hold on to so much? And not just old stuff, but continue to accumulate new things as well.
Later in the Yaconelli book, he writes this about possessions:
“Jesus called His disciples to a very odd standard of living – nothing. Obviously, childlike faith is faith that trusts Jesus’ standard of living (seek first the kingdom of God) instead of the modern society’s standard of living (seek fist the kingdom of things). When our possessions possess us – imprison us – risk and adventure become impossible.”
Maybe I’m getting frustrated enough to change. And maybe that will lead to me finding new ways to walk in line with how God intends. And maybe that will be my next discovery.
Having recently become more aware of the amount of possessions I have, my ‘stuff’ has become an “irritation and annoyance.” And I think it goes deeper for me than just having lots of stuff… Susan Howatch talks of the mystery behind the mystery. There’s something deeper lying behind my current disgust of materialism. And, perhaps more important, not just my frustration, but: Why do I hold onto stuff like I do?; Why don’t I let go of old stuff?; What is it that makes me hold on to so much? And not just old stuff, but continue to accumulate new things as well.
Later in the Yaconelli book, he writes this about possessions:
“Jesus called His disciples to a very odd standard of living – nothing. Obviously, childlike faith is faith that trusts Jesus’ standard of living (seek first the kingdom of God) instead of the modern society’s standard of living (seek fist the kingdom of things). When our possessions possess us – imprison us – risk and adventure become impossible.”
Maybe I’m getting frustrated enough to change. And maybe that will lead to me finding new ways to walk in line with how God intends. And maybe that will be my next discovery.
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