Collecting, one of life’s exciting fulfilling, rewarding evils! And all what for? Hummels, model trains, stamps, coins, records, Bibles, you name it, someone is avidly collecting them.
I began with the “Straight Arrow How-To Cards” that came inside the box of Nabisco Shredded Wheat Cereal. I progressed to collecting postal stationery, but as the Elvis Era dawned, I was hooked on record collecting. I amassed, what I thought, was a pretty nice collection of 45’s, focusing on Elvis and Buddy Holly. Later, I concurrently delved into gathering Disc Jockey information.
WAS MY COLLECTING ALL IN VAIN?
Now looking back, 45’s are passé, even CDs (compact discs) are going by the board and the internet makes both finding that music as well as DJ searching easy. And with all the “stuff” I’ve collected, what do I use now? And who can I share it with or display it for? Was the collecting all in vain? Ego-centered? Did it draw me from God? Was my passion collecting or God?
KING SOLOMON HAD A PROBLEM WITH COLLECTING
I think that King Solomon also had a problem with collecting. At least that’s what he seems to be admitting when he wrote, “I collected for myself, silver and gold, and the treasures of kings and provinces…and behold, all was vanity and striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:8a, 11b) But does that apply to me? Internally, I want to say, “Whoa, George! You have faithfully attended church from birth, you’ve sung in choir, taught Sunday School, been on Church Council, taken and taught Bible studies. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
DIVIDED LOYALTY
However, I repeat: has my passion been collecting or God? Has He been and remained the focus of my life? I have to say, oft times, it may have been a divided loyalty. Or, possibly, in some ways I sometimes have considered my Christian service on the same level as collecting. It’s something I amass, but it’s not near as important as my relationship with the Eternal God.
MOVING MY PASSION
It’s time to refocus. “For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural self in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he is.” James 1:23-24) May my prayer be that my passion would be for God Himself and not what I could collect. How about you?