Useless Stuff…?

How much stuff is too much stuff?  The other day I really wanted to move houses simply because I wanted to purge my household possessions, it was probably just spring cleaning fever but I really had the urge.  (In fact, now that I am thinking about it, having the fever would explain why I pulled the TV set out and vacuumed behind it!)

Ok stop judging….I know I’m not the only one.   You know how I can tell?  It’s because of all those yard sale signs and by the amount of stuff showing up at the church in the form of donations.  So here is a question for you, “Why do people think that broken, worn out, outdated and simply useless stuff suddenly becomes fixed, working, current and useful by selling it or giving it to a church?”

It’s kinda fun to stroll around a church – especially one that has been around for a long time – and find stuff.  Just go look for yourself in every door and closet – it is pretty amazing.  Of course there is always the obligatory flannel graph, but I have found a commode chair (here is a pic) and even a disassembled wooden pew stuffed into an attic!

But you also find stuff that simply doesn’t work.  For example, there is this flashing light affixed to the wall in our welcome center.  It is a box about the size of an electrical plate that has an opaque acrylic covering with “phone” printed on it.  It is designed to flash when the phone rings so a person can answer since there is no ringer – even though I never have actually seen it light up.

Yesterday we were doing some work in the welcome center and I began to look closer at this box.  Ok, in reality it got bumped and the cover fell off so I had to look at it.  I noticed there were no wires, no light bulb or LED, and no screws.  I tugged on it and it easily came off the wall – it had been affixed with double-sided tape!

So now it is sitting in my office as a reminder of the things we look at in the church that have a purpose but are not functioning and in reality are being ignored…

It got me thinking about stuff.  We fill our lives with so much stuff that we begin to confuse the important things, get lost in all we have, or even forget what’s there (kinda like the pew stuffed in the attic or that commode chair stuffed in a storage closet).

The same can happen with people.  In this world of connectedness and social media I am sure there are forgotten people that are longing for a friend, wanting a note, hoping for a phone call.  This morning I decided to walk the halls of the church again.  This time I began to think of the people that fill them during the week and on Sunday.

How many faces I have I walked by and not noticed?  How many people feel like they are broken and useless?  How many feel like they are ignored?

Lord – help me to notice – help me to pause – help me…

Until next time…

Pastor Barry