GOOD STUFF?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

A friend, commenting on yesterday’s blog told me I forgot the “Good Stuff.”

The problem, as I see it, is not that all stuff is bad. It’s that all stuff is not good and we have a hard time telling the difference. And perhaps the biggest part of the problem is determining when enough is enough. You know, like “when do I have enough of this stuff?”

When my mother and father-in-law died it took many long days to sort through their stuff and most of it ended up in a dumpster. Yes, a dumpster—of no value to anybody. A long time friend from a church where I served was known for the stuff he collected. Most people laughed about it and considered his stuff, junk. It was good stuff to him!

Thinking its good stuff doesn’t mean that it is. It’s in the eye of the beholder. However, there is a bias that extends to every area of life. I read somewhere that ninety-nine percent of pastors consider themselves above-average preachers. HA!

Yes, we have a hard time evaluating our stuff! But as Richard Carlson would say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” And in the end, when everything is said and done about our stuff—it’s all small stuff!