Possessions

Accumulation of resources can be a stumbling block on our spiritual journey, which is why it is addressed throughout Scripture.  How can we put our possessions to use for the coming kingdom while setting healthy limits on what we acquire.

Key Insights

What Owns Us
Owning possessions can place costs on us: to maintain, protect, store, pay back, and move.  In what ways are our possessions owning us?
Motivation
It is said we spend the first half of our life accumulating possessions and the second half giving them away.  Why do we choose to accumulate so much?  To feel good about ourselves?  To get a bargain?  To feel safe/secure?  To have more than someone else?
Worker Justice
Many of the goods we purchase (or the raw materials to make them) come from places where workers were exploited.  How do our purchasing decisions impact others?
Stewardship
In a sense, we don't own anything.  Everything belongs to God, and we are only stewards for a period of time (at most until we die).  How can we ensure these resources are put to the best use and maintained?  If we can't, we may be called to pass them on to someone who can.
Sharing
We only use many of our possessions for very short periods of time.  What could we share with our neighbors, so that every household would not have to own their own?
Distraction
Some of our possessions can be a distraction to living the life God calls us to lead.  In some cases, searching for possessions (and the best deal we can get) is the distraction.
Care For Creation
The material resources necessary to generate our consumer goods have an impact on the environment (which then impacts people, often among the poor).  How many of the earth's resources are each of us entitled to?

Quotations

It is easy to slide into the consumer race and find out how much we can purchase for ourselves! But do all these goods leave us more humane, compassionate, and just? Are we free? Are we more grateful and generous?
Are we truly joyful? Do we listen for the wind of the Spirit– joy– and dance! A consumer culture is at odds with an economy of gifts. God’s graciousness to us is built upon the utter gratuity of God’s love, which we can neither buy nor earn.  The [U.S. Bishops’] pastoral letter on stewardship raises questions about how can we live in the light of the Gospel in a culture of consumerism and individualism run wild!
...Stewardship challenges us to ask why we spend money and accumulate things!
Bishop Sylvester Ryan
Before you acquire a possession, stop and ask yourself the following questions: Will this enhance my life and complement my goals? Do I really need this? Do I have a place in my life for this? If I delay, will I want this later? The ‘stuff’ in our lives demands a lot—it needs to be cleaned, organized, repaired, insured, or financed. Free up time and energy by getting rid of the items you don’t need. Sell it, recycle it, donate it to charity, or throw it out.
Optum
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be
perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the
money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all
things are possible.”
Matthew 19:21-26
Not to share one's goods with the poor is to rob them and to deprive them of life. It is not our goods that we possess, but theirs.
St. John Chrysostom
No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common…. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.
Acts 4:32-35
Henry David Thoreau once said that if he was dusting and came across an object in his path, he would toss the object rather than fool with it. I like this approach. This guy knew what he was talking about. Think about it. Our friend from Walden Pond had time to wander in nature, write books, and philosophize about life. What are the rest of us doing? Dusting; rearranging; insuring; shopping for stackable, color-coded storage units; renting storage space; buying houses with extra rooms and basements; worrying about our stuff; polishing; cleaning; repairing; selling at garage sales; and working overtime to buy our clutter!
Janet Luhrs, The Simple Living Guide
Christian tradition has never upheld this right [to private property] as absolute and untouchable. On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone.
Pope John Paul II, On Human Work

Books

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Sharing Possessions: What Faith Demands
Luke Timothy Johnson

This book is written as an exercise in theological reflection on one of the knottiest questions imaginable: the connection between being a Christian and the way we own and use things.... When we turn to thinking about money and possessions, we find ourselves in murky waters. The things we own and use, like our sexuality, lie close to the bone of our individual and collective sense of identity. (Amazon)
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Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things
John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning

If you don't know your stuff, you don't know your world.  This book takes you to the places and people you touch every day -- when you sip your coffee, tie your shoes, click your mouse, or step on the gas. Once you follow a day in the life of an average North American and see the secret lives of your food, your clothes, and your toys, your world will never look the same.  (Amazon)
Many books, videos, and other resources and ideas can be found under the more general topic of Voluntary Simplicity.

Songs

Articles

Organizations & Websites

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The Story of Stuff Project
In 2007 Annie Leonard created a video to share what she’d learned about the way we make, use and throw away Stuff.  15 million views later, The Story of Stuff is one of the most watched environmental-themed online movies of all time.  The Story of Stuff Project was created to respond to tens of thousands of viewer requests for more information and ways to get involved. We create short, easily shareable online movies that explore some of the key features of our relationship with Stuff—including how we can make things better; we provide high quality educational resources and programs to everyone from teachers and people of faith to business and community leaders; and we support the learning and action of the over 350,000 members of the Story of Stuff community.

Parish Resources

4-page overview handout used as a bulletin wrapper to introduce the concept to a parish.

Related To

Biblical stewardship challenges us to thoughtfully care for everything, including our possessions.
The Bible encourages us to place Sabbath limits on the possessions we accumulate.
As Christians, the Christmas holiday means much more than our culture's focus on consumption.
Header photo by tallkev (Creative Commons License).