March 13, 2018

Reading time: two minutes.

Jesus “did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage” (Philippians 2:6, NIV).  In his commentary on Hebrews 4 from CPH, John Kleinig says, “He goes so low so that he can raise them so high.”

One part of our Lord’s humiliation that leads to our exaltation is his willingness to live a life of humble poverty, never grasping or claiming any financial wealth as his own.  He had the clothes on his back, the sandals on his feet, and not much else.  He claimed no home address, no bank account, no storage unit for the overflow of stuff.

As we remember our Lord’s passion in Lent, it’s an ideal time to consider our own attachment to the material things of this earth, and how humility teaches us to cling to them lightly.  I recently cleaned out my home office.  I gutted it, really.  I tore out a lot of extra features like trim and molding, gave it a clean coat of paint and moved back in.  It was an exercise in letting go.

I tossed out a lot of old files I knew I’d never look at again, but mostly, I cleaned out a bunch more books off of my bookshelf.  They’re stacked up and ready for the “Free Books” shelf at the seminary.  Most of them are books only a sem student could love.  Or a pastor.

I love those books.  I don’t buy a lot of clothes or electronics.  I buy books.  I built myself lots of shelves so I could stack and store them neatly, kind of like a guy who built bigger barns because his harvest was so great.  I guess I was thinking I’d eat, drink and be merry with my books.  Lots of books.  About 300 that I have no use for.

Letting go became a spiritual exercise for me.  Letting go.  Interesting way to put it.  In a very small way, kind of like Jesus letting go as an act of humility.

As I get older, I want to do more letting go of the things of this earth; more clinging to the old rugged cross.

Cleaning out the office and tearing apart about half of my bookshelves has caused me to reflect on those things that are most needful.  I’m embarrassed about the things to which I cling.

I gave away a bunch of Bibles.  (Nobody needs 30, and our local prison chaplain needs soft cover editions to give away.)  But I didn’t give them all away.  I’ve got a lot to learn about humility and trust and wealth and the dangers of trusting in wealth.

God bless all of your Lenten journeys.

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