On Sunday, we went through 1 John 2:12-17, however, 1 John 2:15–17 is a bit more relevant to this thought.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17, ESV)

We have recently been having small groups discussions after church on Sunday evenings as part of our services. It has been wonderful to meet people around the church and engage with them in learning about God’s word and being. In our small group time, I got to talk with a couple of the older ladies and an older man from around the church. We were given a question stack similar to, “Do you have any favourite things/possessions? Is it okay to have nice things? If God asked you to get rid of them, would you do it?”.

I expressed how I’ve been struggling with taking care for the things I consume in relation to media (i.e., movies, TV shows, music, etc.). I have favourite movies or favourite music, but am unsure whether I would be able to give them up, and often wonder whether they are even helpful (see 1 Corinthians 6:12 and All things are lawful…).

One lady talked about how must stuff is rubbish anyway, which I mostly agree with rationally, despite my heart being in opposition most of the time.

Another lady told me about a quote said by our senior pastor once. After looking it up, it was a quote by Corrie ten Boom. There are multiple iterations of this quote, as really Corrie Ten Boom believed in the idea but said it in many different phrasings during her life. The general idea, however, was:

Hold all things loosely, because it will hurt if God must pry them out of your hands.

- Corrie ten Boom

Loss hurts. Change is hard. We like comfort and predictability, not things which are uncertain, new, or potentially dangerous. But God does not call us to live in the comfort of our possessions, our favourite albums, or spacious houses. God gives us things to build us up and enjoy, but will just as easily remove them from our grasp, for the sake of drawing near to him.

I am planning on moving out soon, so the idea of letting things go has been on my mind. I want and I need to get rid of a lot of things before moving out. I am praying that God would help me loosen my grip, so that my loss will count as naught compared to the eternal treasures of heaven that God has in store.

Related: