It's All Temporary Stuff

If you have watched the news you have seen videos of the floods in the gulf coast region. You may have also seen mounds of rubble piled out on the curbs as people begin cleaning up.

I recall an interview I saw of one guy who said, "It is all just stuff. It can be replaced."

Think of the countless hours of labor spent to purchase such items like houses, furniture, vehicles, televisions, barbecue grills and more. All bought with the promise of creating pleasure, happiness, and endless memories. All gone now piled in trash heaps.

The truth is it is all temporary. Possessions are temporary. Relationships are temporary. Even our bodies are temporary.

It makes me think of line to a song I love penned by Graham Kendrick.

All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord

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All we once held dear can be taken from us in a moment. An accident. A hurricane. A tornado. A virus. A downturn in the economy. Or even end times persecution and apocalyptic events. All remind us that everything we held dear on planet earth is temporary. 

Do not believe me. Look in Houston at the houses. the vehicles, the manicured lawns, the businesses.Destroyed. Drive down to the cemetery as I did last week. I saw graves from as far back as 1887 and as current as just a couple of weeks ago. Relationships are temporary. Fathers die. Husbands die. Mothers die. Wives die. Students die. Infants die. Military personnel die. Sons and and daughters die. None are exempt. 

It is all temporary. We hold things dear and build our lives on temporal things. We think they will give us status, importance, and lasting pleasure. We make the foolish mistake of building our lives on these unstable foundations. 

People war to possess such things. Gangs war to possess a certain turf. A region where they rule. Nations war to rule power over the world. Rulers come and go. Gang members come and go. It is all temporary. 

Only our personal relationship with Jesus and eternity will last. In the end they are all that really matter. 

Philippians 3:7-8 (ESV)
⁷  But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
⁸  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Knowing Jesus is most important. All our stuff is temporary but we fall under the delusion. We are inundated with multiple messages that stuff or relationships will make life better. We fall for the deception. We build our lives on things that cannot last. No matter how many times we see this truth played out before our eyes like Hurricane Harvey or some tragic death.

Let me conclude with a few stories. Many years ago I visited with a senior adult couple. I commented about all the nice stuff they had accumulated over the years. They talked about their deaths and what would happen to all their stuff. The elderly gentleman said, "We are going to let the kids fight over it. It will not matter to us where we are going." He had a good sense of the temporary nature of things. 

Brenda's suburban is 14 years old with 286,000 miles on it. I recently took it to a car salesman I know to see what we would get for trade on it to basically swap it for a car with a less miles and no debt.  While we talked he old me about people going out and financing vehicles for $1,000 a month. I could not believe my ears.

Later they came back with a very low offer on Brenda's vehicle. One I quickly rejected and left. On my way out the door I saw a shiny new truck. I saw the sticker on the window. $59,000. All for temporary. A friend just old me today about a man paying $1,500 a month for a used 2009 truck. All for temporary.

Knowing Jesus lasts. It is eternal. May we not waste on our lives in pursuit of the temporary. May we give our lives to that primary pursuit of knowing Jesus.