Materialism

Today I lost my beloved 80 GB iPod. Or rather, I discovered it was missing; I only know I lost it sometime this weekend. It's pretty tough, but I'll survive...somehow. Actually, I'm encouraged by how little the loss is affecting me. (Though this is probably partly because I still have my internet-capable iPod Touch) The sudden loss of something I've used almost every day for years got me thinking about the importance of not getting overly attached to possessions, because ultimately we can't keep any of them.

How you approach material things depends on your worldview of course. If you believe there is nothing after this life, then go ahead and enjoy your things; you might as well. But if you believe there is something that comes after death, something eternal, then it's foolish not to seek things that matter in that. Jesus taught that we should not "

Store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Imagine your most prized possession (which, admittedly, my iPod was not). Suppose it was suddenly gone. (Or do more than imagine and go without it for X days) If this is unthinkable, maybe you need to think about your attachment. No thing lasts forever.