The things we own end up owning us

That line came from a movie.

Guess what movie it is?

No, really guess because I don’t remember.

The quote might even go, “The things you own end up owning you.”

Often things we own show where our heart is.

The first step to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University is having a $1,000 dollars in emergency savings.

Since hearing about this, Hailee and I have been watching our finances a lot closer.

We are looking at things we could sell in order to get that $1,000.

This brings a time of reflection upon us.

Where have we spent our money?

A couple of years ago I went through an inventory of my CD’s.

Over the years I have bought some crap I now threw away (Yes I threw away CD’s).

One of the clear thoughts I had, “Why did I ever think Limp Bizkit was good music?”

I threw away all three of their CD’s. In the end I threw away about 15 CD’s I think.

Those CD’s at one point cost between $12-15.

In other words I threw away between $180-225.

This was just one instance.

Upstairs at our house is three full boxes of movies.

I would easily say we have about 100 movies in our collection costing anywhere from $5-22.

If I bought those movies at an average of $10 a movie, that would be $1,000.

I once heard a couple of people talk about how they never watch movies anymore since they had kids.

I thought, “There is no way Hailee and I would do that. That is one of our favorite hobbies.”

Yet here we are with a four year old and a two year old. The majority of the movies we own I have not seen in over 1-2 years.

It’s time to clean house.

The things we own often show where our priorities are.

In other words, where our heart is.

From our vehicles to our music collection, our possessions show what we care about.

It’s tough when I look back at how much money I have wasted throughout the years, how many bad investments I made as a kid.

Malachi 2:2 goes into the heart…
“If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.”

While this section was going for the priest of that time, I think it could be applied to us.

Sometimes things we take as blessings are really just a curse in disguise.

Some things that look great are a curse.

It causes our heart to twist and go in different directions.

Do our possessions show we honor God?

If we love our possessions it is often a representation of where we put our heart.

I have made some bad investments with my heart throughout the years.

As I start looking through my possessions, I now look at what I valued and how that has changed now.

How can we change to make our hearts better, more giving?

I am trying to find that path.

How about you?

Have a great day.