If I am what I have, What am I? - Lessons from Storage, Hoarding and Real Estate Shows

If I am what I have. What am I? - Lessons from Storage, Hoarding and Real Estate Shows

It seems that you can’t turn on a television show without encountering a show about people getting rid of their old material possessions. These range from the priceless in Antiques shows to the worthless in storage units. Some even have interesting historical blurbs on items they auction off. However, despite what seems like a very shallow and materialistic paradigm. There is a strong Christian message in all of this bargaining.

Matthew 6 19-21: ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be’.

In some shows they auction off abandoned storage units, this is where people have stored possessions in units where there is no room in their house. When they stop paying the rent on these units, they go up for auction and different traders appear and bid on the unit. Sometimes they make a lot of money, sometimes nothing. However, there is a Christian message here. The material world is fleeting. Possessions are just that, they are just things. And when the people who own them move along then the stuff is still there, but they are of no use to the actual person.

Proverbs 23 4-5  ‘Toil not to gain wealth, cease to be concerned about it; While your glance flits to it, it is gone! for assuredly it grows wings, like the eagle that flies toward heaven’

Then there are shows about hoarders. These are people who hold onto a lot of material possessions. However, it is mostly useless junk. They fill their houses with rubbish. So much so that they can’t make their way around their house for all the piles of boxes and bits and pieces they have collected throughout the years. This is usually due to some trauma, and the stuff is a type of comfort to them. However, even with all their ‘stuff’ they are deeply unhappy. The shows are usually there to help them clear out their houses and get back on a sensible track. But, they are relying on objects for comfort, but find nothing but more trauma. Once again highlighting the Christian dismissal of the material.

Luke 12: 15 ‘…Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions’

So far, it has been people with old rubbish, but, this is no different to people with beautiful houses. They may have perfectly designed rooms, with fashionable wallpaper and all the latest décor on their walls, but, it is quite empty. Like the hoarding house, there can be great human misery in these shallow places. And what happens after the resident moves or passes on? It is all ripped down or falls into disrepair. What is the point of all these expensive décor items? You have a perfectly designed house? Now what? Are you just going to sit there and watch time go by? There is the issue of some people designing beautiful living rooms, but, never using them and living in their kitchens. The so-called living room is never full of life and is only used on special occasions. Some people even keep the curtains constantly closed on these rooms, to stop the sunlight from fading their sofas and carpets. How pointless. These rooms could be filled with life and joy. But, instead they are locked off for the ‘important’ guests.

This idea is not limited to biblical work either. In ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ Philip K Dick refers to 'kipple' this is defined as useless objects that accumulate and multiply. It shows how neglected an obsolete junk can spread.

So, when you see shows about storage, antiques or real estate. Don’t get carried away with the bargaining and the bidding. Maybe reflect on the people who may have owned it before, and how they could have invested their time in the love of God and Jesus instead of squandering it on so much worthless ‘kipple’