Aside from having to say goodbye to friends and family, I think the worst part of moving to a new city or state is packing. Many of you have probably had to do that at least a few times in your life. Packing up a house is a chore! Find boxes, sort through all your stuff, pack those boxes, put them on a truck, and then go through that whole process in reverse on the other end. But when you do that, you learn something very important: there’s a lot of stuff that you don’t need. And if you’ve lived somewhere for 20 or more years—there’s a LOT of stuff you don’t need. 

Let’s take that young college kid moving in to the dorms this week. If he’s moving in to the dorms he is paying for room and board. He gets his meals in the cafeteria; he has a decent dorm room with a bed, a desk and a dresser. What does he need to bring? Some clothes, bed sheets, bathroom stuff and school supplies—that’s really about it. I bet he could fit most of that in one or two boxes, maybe even a single suitcase. But what else does he bring: TV, small fridge, Xbox, Xbox games, Playstation, Playstation games, movies, sports equipment, posters, decorations, cell phone, chargers, feet of electronic cable, power strips and other odds and ends. Granted, nice things, things that make life more comfortable, but in the grand scheme of things just more stuff. Stuff he really doesn’t need.

And that’s our life sometimes. Stuff, and the accumulation of stuff. Not that stuff is bad, but it can be such a distraction. 

There was an economist about 80 years ago who predicted we’d all be working about 20 hours a week because the price of necessities would drop so low. Was he right? If you thought about it, could he be right?

So, my point is not to bash the idea of getting stuff, but where is our focus? It’s so easy to focus on wealth and possessions and forget that God has made you rich already.

Wealth is a blessing when we remember who gives it. It’s God who gives it to us; God who gives us every thing for our enjoyment. It starts when he reminds you that he gave you the wealth of his grace. Through Christ he has forgiven your greed and foolish attitude about wealth. Through Christ it’s all been paid for by his blood. We were in debt to God up to our eyes—up to eternity! But God took care of that debt. He made you rich. You are kings and queens by his grace! You are the princes of his kingdom! You have the wealth of the creator and preserver of this whole universe at your disposal. And you shall reign with him forever in eternity. This world and all its stuff will one day pass away and in its place God will create, out of his love for us, a new heavens and a new earth that will never cease to be perfect in every way. 

Don’t you see? God has made you rich!