The title may be deceiving. Typically the thought here would probably be something like, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth." That's of course a profound Biblical truth to be heeded, but it's not what I was thinking about. My comments are really more toward "having a thing"...or more accurately..."not having a thing". You know what I mean by a "thing", right? Someone has a thing when they refuse to ever get on an airplane, or has to have their coffee in the morning before talking to anyone or someone who only buys Ford...or Chevrolet..or Toyota. It's why little league sports can return the glory days to moms and dads living vicariously through the kiddos...could be that it's their thing.
Sometimes we are so known for this thing that when it comes to the "friends and fam" buying gifts for us, they know exactly what to shop for. It's why some wallets or purses are stuffed with Starbucks gift cards and some golfers have a shelf in the garage full of unused golf balls and some wives become "hunting widows" each fall. Our thing can so consume us that we will swap the price tags and make our "media rooms" our whole world while neglecting those who mean the whole world to us.
I want to avoid a misunderstanding here. I am not advocating abstinence...I am promoting moderation. Certainly enjoy the things that you most enjoy but do so to a point and no further. Then, let it go. Our lives are meant to count. Do we realize that our purpose is not identified with a college football team or following a band around the country? There is something else that we as believers are to be known for. So let's get to it. Identifying all other things as secondary, let us make this a passionate pursuit and go after it with reckless abandon.
What a shame if at the end of my life on earth, people said of me, "He was a huge Auburn fan!" or "His yard always had to be pristine." or "He loved his Starbucks." May I learn now that ultimately, it does not matter what 21-year-olds do on a Saturday afternoon or whether my fescue has dandelions, or if I do or do not acquire a taste for burnt coffee. Let them say nothing of me, if not..."He went hard after the glory of God."