What Matters to God

by Mark Hoggard

A guilty pleasure of mine is a show called "Storage Wars," where folks bid on abandoned storage lockers, and search for "buried treasure" (a box of valuable jewelry, a rare book, etc.). Often, the locker is full of black plastic bags filled with old clothing, and I wonder, "why rent a storage locker for that?" I guess some people just can't let go.

Discipleship requires self-emptying. St. Paul reminds us in this Sunday's second reading (Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11)) that dying to our own needs and wants and pleasures is what God wants. And when that happens, our needs and desires gradually change as our practical, everyday choices begin to square up with "what matters to God" (c.f. Luke 12:13-21).

That doesn't mean we must give up all possessions (many saints have tried). That is neither practical nor necessary. There's nothing wrong with possessions in themselves, and there is everything wrong with destitution, no matter what the cause. All of us should appreciate whatever material things we need to pursue a wholesome life. The problem arises when concern for our possessions or the drive to have more is our highest priority. The issue is valuing things appropriately, and then making choices so that our priorities remain clear and never are never compromised.

As a Church we can also let possessions get in the way -- if not material possessions, then attitudes and prejudices. Synod participants admitted "a sense of sadness expressed at the widespread difficulty within the Church in living flourishing relationships fully between men and women, between different generations and between individuals and groups with diverse cultural identities and social conditions. Of particular concern in this regard must be those people made poor and those who are excluded (Final Document, #36).

Possessions must take a second place to "what matters to God." Emptying ourselves of whatever stands in our way of that value is much more difficult that building bigger barns (or renting more storage units), but it's also more lasting: self-emptying leads us to eternal glory with God.

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