Hollow and Deceptive Philosophy

…and it continues.

Wed July 22nd 2009 – Hollow and Deceptive Philosophy
The minister at church has been the minister since I was 5! However, every time I listen to him preach the Word, I see things in a different way. We were studying Colossians. We discussed Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather on Christ.” Alan began to talk about the American philosophies of buying and keeping more “stuff.” Our possessions can make us feel hollow…I know this for a fact. Strange how we’ve been thinking about this all week and this was the main topic of discussion at church….God is working.

God worked boldly this week.  Our possessions began to feel more burdensome than before.  With the prospect of a simple life on the horizon, the most simple tasks which will be eliminated seem much more profound as we consider their eventual disappearance.  Soon would be gone the cleaning multiple bedrooms, clearing many countertops, washing countless loads of laundry and dodging a multitude of neglected toys, symbols we were giving our children to further teach them the philosophy of having.

Wants and needs have blurred so much in our society that we had to shake ourselves violently to the core.  We had to mindfully consider the value of all our possessions and little was to remain which was not necessary to maintain our simple life.  Here began the journey to less. This is where the test of our resolve to do what we had been discussing came to fruition.  Now we must purge!