The importance of things

We know that all things on this earth are passing away. Things will not last forever. So why do we put so much emphasis on things?

Currently I am thinking of the little fixer upper of a house that I live in. It is so much work and there are still so many more things I need to do to before it becomes a real home. It costs a lot of money too, which is one reason why it is taking so slow to accomplish my goal. I just don't have the money and am trying to do what I can myself to save money.

But I am also aware that this is really a labor that is futile because some day this little house will be gone. I will die and someone else will take it over. They will make the changes they want to make, and all my work will be undone. Maybe someday it will be destroyed in a flood or fire, or maybe the end of the world will come and it will just go "poof".

So then, I am asking myself, why do I spend so much of my life on this house? That is a really good question. Well, everyone needs a place to live. For all my adult life, until I bought this house, I rented. I gave my hard earned money to a landlord and I had restrictions to live by: don't paint the walls, no guests for more than a week, no pets, etc... So in some respect having my own house gives me more freedom. That is a good thing. So I am using my money to buy a certain amount of freedom.

But then I think, if I were still renting, I would have extra money to do things like travel. That too is a different kind of freedom. A trade off. A choice.

I have to decide how I want to spend the rest of my time on this earth. Do I want to literally be a "house wife" and tend to this house forever, or do I want a different type of freedom?

One reason I like having a house is for security in the sense that there is no landlord to tell me that I have to move out. There is supposed to be some financial security in owning a home but I haven't figured out how that works yet.

Still, this house will disappear someday, so unless I give another meaning to why I'm putting so much work into it, it will all be in vain. I think for me, the meaning behind all the work I am doing in this house is because I want to have a wonderful place to live - my only little country of sorts - it will be a peaceful country. It will be comfortable and serene and welcoming. It will help me to enjoy guests and will give me space to accomplish some of the other things I want to do in my life - business wise, but also in regards to writing and creativity.

Giving meaning to things - sentimentality - can be a good thing, but it can also cause us to be too attached to things. Our faith tell us to have a healthy detachment to things. To use them, but to realize that they have their place in our lives, and that place is temporary, and they can be used for the good of others.

If we use things selfishly then we have our priorities wrong. I think that is something that is happening in the USA now. We have so many things, especially techno-things - iPods, MP3's, cell phones, mini computers, etc... and people are really attached to those things. At that point, having things can lead to greediness if we take it to such a level as some people have today.

As for me, I will use my little house until either it, or I, am no longer here. Now someday when I will hopefully be in Heaven, I will have a new home, a mansion, according to Jesus. I betcha I won't have to do yardwork, fix-ups, or laundry in that house!