By Robert C. Blezard
Cluttered lives: Shedding stuff C
lutter seems a fact of American life—we accumulate more and more material goods and then buy bigger houses to put them into. When the attic, garage and basement are full, we turn to self-storage units for the overflow. Is this the life of abundance that Jesus promised us in John 10:10?
Exercise 1: Treasures on earth Jesus warns us against having too much stuff and letting our desire for wealth consume us. Read Matthew 6:19-21 and discuss: • What’s the difference between stor- ing treasures on earth and treasures in heaven? • Why does Jesus advise us against storing up treasures on earth? • Why do most of us fail to heed that advice? • As North Americans, how are we encouraged to do just the opposite? • Does the Christian church provide an adequate counter-message? • Why does Jesus say where your treasure is, your heart is also, when you would think the logic would work the other way around? • Where is your treasure? • Where is your heart? • What is the spiritual downside to clutter?
Exercise 2: Cluttered homes, lives • How would you define clutter? • Moving beyond the obvious prob- lem of physical clutter, what are some other types of clutter? • What are the drawbacks of clutter in our lives and culture? • How has clutter been an issue for you in the following areas: Your home? Your workplace? Your con-
gregation? Your schedule? Your faith life? Your thoughts? How you stay informed? How you stay entertained? • What can you do about clutter? • Why is it so hard to do anything about clutter?
Exercise 3: Your house, your church Walk through your home (or church—you could do this as a study group) and rate the clutter on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 signifying totally uncluttered and 5 hopelessly cluttered. Make a list and rate these areas: closets, closet shelves, storage cubbyholes, drawers, attic, base- ment, garage and storage rooms. • Is clutter a problem for you (or your church)? • If so, how did it become an issue? • Was it cluttered when you first moved into your home (or when the church was new)? • What are you going to do about it?
Exercise 4: Growing clutter Generally speaking, the older the home, the smaller the closets. Sur- vey your group: • When was your house or apartment built? How big are the closets and storage spaces? • For those who live in older homes, are the closets and storage spaces adequate? • How do you think people 50 years ago and more were able to get by with such small storage spaces? • What has changed in our culture?
Exercise 5: Bigger homes The average size of a home has nearly doubled since 1970—from
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1,400 square feet to 2,700 square feet, according to the National Asso- ciation of Home Builders. • Why do you think this is so? • What does this say about our nation’s level of consumption? • Are bigger houses less cluttered than smaller homes?
Exercise 6: More, newer, bigger! Relentless advertising sends us three basic messages about consumption: owning more is better; buying newer is better; and buying bigger is better. • How is this evidenced in ads and product fads in your community? • How have those thoughts perme- ated our culture? • Why do we believe them? • What has been the consequence? • Why does it take diligence and awareness to counteract that message? • How can churches do that?
Exercise 7: Christmas clutter • Do you feel pressure to spend money and buy gifts at Christmas? Is your Christmas list too long? Do you buy gifts for people who already have everything they need, simply because you feel you have to? • Have you ever received a Christ- mas gift you really didn’t want, had no use for, and wound up just stick- ing in a closet? • How does Christmas contribute to the cluttering of our homes and lives? • Is a consumer buying spree the best way to observe the birth of God-made- flesh?
Blezard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Arendtsville, Pa. He has a master of divinity degree from Boston University and did subsequent study at the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.
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