What Really Matters

I once heard a story of a man who had turned the basement of his home into his man cave. This was his place where he would chill out and do “man stuff”. In this man cave, he had a wide-screen television with a great sound system. The walls were hung with diplomas and certificates of achievements. His sports and hunting trophies were there. Sometimes he would go down, sit in his favorite chair and look fondly at all his stuff.

One day, while he was at work the area he lived in, was hit by a tremendous storm. Rain poured for hours. Streets and homes were flooded. He rushed home to find that for the most part, his home was ok. But when he opened the door to the basement, he saw that His man cave was filled with water. Everything was destroyed. All his stuff was gone.

While he stood looking and grieving over all his ruined possessions, he seemed to hear the voice of God speaking to him. God whispered in his ear saying, “Don’t worry about all this stuff, I was going to burn it all one day anyhow.” You see your stuff is just temporary and no matter how fond you are of it, it will not last. One day it will all rot, rust or burn.

The message is this, “don’t get too attached to your stuff because your stuff does not matter”. The Bible teaches that one day, “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” The Bible also says that we should seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. The truth is there is no profit to be had in all the gold in the world. It is only the treasure that you lay up in Heaven that really matters.

Douglas Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends