We had the privilege of visiting Budapest, Hungary this past weekend. One of the girls on our team is close with an American missionary couple who lives in Budapest with their 4 kids, and they invited us to crash their home for two nights. I cannot remember the last time eating spaghetti was that much fun. The city was fascinating, filled with elaborate architecture and street-side cafes. I highly recommend a visit.
One night during our stay in Budapest, Luke and I experienced something together for the first time: we had correlating dreams. I guess this is one of the many cool perks of being married 😉 This is how we described the dreams to each other…
Luke: “In my dream, we were all standing outside my parents’ house as it burned in flames. You (Chelsey), my parents, and my brother were all there and I was shouting for everyone to help me save our belongings from inside. You all were just standing around saying, “Luke, don’t worry about it”, and I kept running in and out with armfuls of stuff.”
Chelsey: “My dream took place after the World Race, and we were both in your parents’ basement sorting through our stuff. I had all of my clothes laid out in piles and I decided to get rid of all of them except for one small boxful. It wasn’t painful at all, in fact, I remember being very happy to be downsizing.”
We believe that our dreams were God-given, in order to shake us up a bit and challenge us in what things are most important to us. This is an area of faith that we’ve been stretched to believe in, this idea of prophetic dreams from the Lord. I share it with you because God has shown us that He speaks to us in many ways, even in the subconscious of our sleep.
We quickly realized that our dreams had very similar themes: the grip that possessions have on our life and the freedom that comes with releasing that grip.
If you know me, I’ve never been very materialistic, but I do have a LOT of clothes. At home, I typically have to steal hangers from Luke’s side of the closet because I never have enough for my clothes. There are shirts or belts that I haven’t worn in 4 years, but I hold onto them for that one occasion that I might need them. I also buy everything on sale or clearance, so that usually means I don’t feel guilty about having a lot of clothes, as long as I got a good bargain.
The truth is, I’ve learned so much in the last 3 ½ months by living out of a backpack. I was so proud when I left for the race and my pack weighed 47 pounds; that’s 3 pounds under the limit! Now, at month 4, I’m actually down to 36 pounds and feeling lighter than ever.
It’s amazing how the definition of “need” can change over the course of time. At launch, I really “needed” 4 pairs of athletic shorts, and now I’m confident that two is sufficient (I really only need one pair, but give me a break, this is a process). I thought I “needed” shaving cream, but it’s surprising how well conditioner works and you can kill two birds with one stone! Things I thought were necessary were really just luxuries that I refused to give up.
Now I’m not saying that it’s a sin to have things. I’m not asking all of you to sell everything you have, rather to look at your heart when it comes to your stuff. I don’t think that God wants us to get rid of crap just for the sake of being sacrificial, but rather to free ourselves for more of Him in our life and more reliance on Him. There is something so freeing about loosening your grip on material possessions. I feel the freedom every time I look at my backpack. I felt the freedom as I watched Luke bless someone with the gift of his car before we left the States. I felt the freedom every time my car got a dent and I literally had no emotional reaction because it’s just a car. I felt freedom when we evaluated everything in our house and made a list of all the things we wouldn’t be able to part with, and the list only had two items on it. I cannot express how much freedom there is in less of me and more of Jesus. The weight of “stuff” can be so overwhelming that it suffocates our ability to move freely in the will of the Lord. He brings so much more freedom than any physical possession.
Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I believe that the Lord is asking Luke and I where our treasure truly lies. Is our treasure in our stuff, because that’s where our heart is too, if that’s the case. The same goes for money; is our treasure in our savings account? Money can satisfy only temporarily, and God doesn’t want to compete with our money.
We cannot serve two masters.
God wants all of us. He doesn’t want half our heart. If we are so busy storing up earthly treasure, then that means we are missing the treasure that our heavenly father has for us.
“You cannot serve both God and money” –Matthew 6:24
The Bible says that to whom much is given, much is required. If you live in the United States and own a car, you are among the wealthiest 1% of people in the world.
You ask why God allows children to starve in Africa? What if God’s way of doing something is by blessing 1% of the world enough to do something about it? Maybe that is the answer to poverty and we are so blinded by our own desires that we are missing it.
What I’m starting to realize, is that I’ve been using up my blessing on myself. I thought I “needed” a full closet. I thought I needed 14 options of shoes, but I’ve been living the last 2 months on two options. The truth is I am blessed to have two options. Last month I saw a guy playing soccer in beat up dress shoes that didn’t match because that’s all he had. Your wealth is all a matter of perspective.
Are you more fearful of an empty closet or garage more than the empty stomach of the homeless man standing outside of the mall?
To whom much is given, much is required.
I think that God has entrusted me with rich blessing so that I can bless others richly. It’s what I was made for. I also believe that by releasing my grip on possessions, I am freeing up more space for Jesus to fill up my life and my heart.
