Are You A Spiritual Hoarder?
Hoarding Physically and Spiritually
Physically Hoarding Things Never Ends Well. I would imagine that most everyone reading this article has seen, even experienced hoarders. There was a popular television series called by that very name which depicted the miserable lives of people who cannot seem to throw anything away. These people end up accumulating mounds of “stuff” to the point that they often cannot even navigate through their own homes. The fact that they are accumulating, by necessity implies that they are acquiring “new things” and keeping “the old”. The bad news is that very often what starts as a “character quirk” only gets worse over time. When hoarding is taken to its logical extreme, what must result, is tragic, for people develop such attachments to “their things”, that even when their health and safety are in jeopardy, they just cannot let them go. In the physical sense this can lead to isolation, guilt, and without change it only gets worse, because each time you don’t throw something out, or you cling to something you probably shouldn’t, you will end up reinforcing the neural pathways that led to that behavior in the first place. In other words, you become more and more prone to hoarding! According to a study on “hoarders”, 45% have blocked access to their own fridge, 42% are unable to reach the sink or bathtub, and 10% are unable to reach the toilet! Often hoarders will have piles of cigarettes, items of food so moldy it has turned into white liquid [from SimplyHealth.io].
Spiritually Hoarding Things Never Ends Well. God’s people also have seen members who struggle with spiritual hoarding. Brethren who have died to sin through repentance, “the old things”, and were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38, 16:22), to start a “new life” (Rom. 6:4), then continue to walk in their old ways and trying to merge them with the new. The same things happen as described before for the physical yet worse. Make no mistake spiritual hoarding leads to isolation, guilt, and without change, it not only grows worse that is to say, you’ll have escalating trouble navigating life. The longer you hold on to the old life, the more difficult it becomes to let go of the sin that ensnares. The writer of Hebrews addressed this saying, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith…3lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Heb. 12:1-3). As bad as a life like that would be, it gets worse because in the end this person will hear the words, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…” (Matt. 25:41), that is eternal isolation from God.
Tragically many try to grow spiritually, “adding to their faith” (Ref. 2 Peter 1:5-11), yet stumble because they are unwilling to purge the old habits (1 Cor. 5:7). Spiritually it is impossible, you cannot juggle the old and new. James says of this person, “7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:7-8). The old way of sin is referred to as “darkness” and the new way of righteousness is referred to as “light”. We must “…Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of the [b]Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)…11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness…” (Eph. 5:8-11, Ref. John 11:10).
Spiritually, we must throw out anger and replace it with patience, throw out drunkenness, replace it with sobriety, throw out lust of the flesh and eyes, and replace it with sanctification and honor by turning your eyes from looking at worthless things, and throw out pride and be clothed with humility, throw out fear of man, replace it with the fear of God (Gal. 5:19-26; 1 John 2:16; 1 Thess. 4:3-7; Psa. 119:37; 1 Pet. 5:5; Matt. 10:28). We must systematically throw out everything that offends and replace it with what is acceptable to our Father. Paul commands us, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2; Ref. Col. 3:1-10). Out with the old and in with the new!
Even God in His eternal purpose planned to eliminate what cannot save and replace it with what can. The Bible describes two major covenants: The old and the new. “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13). Because of this the church does not keep the sabbath day, burn incense, offer animal sacrifices, or go to Jerusalem three times in the year. There are thousands upon thousands of false religious leaders today who are cursed just like those Judaizers who tried to keep some of the old, adding it to the new (Gal. 1:6-9; Matt. 15:14), they refuse this plain scriptural teaching from Hebrews 8. When we are baptized, we put on the “new man”, and are bound to “fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2) not the law of Moses. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
Like most people I like getting new things, but spiritually just think of some of the new things we have in Christ. Isaiah prophesied, “You shall be called by a new name” (Isa. 62:2) this was fulfilled in Christ, the new name is, “Christian” (Acts 11:26). Again, Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:27). Brothers, sisters, and friends contacting the blood of Christ doesn’t just add something new to your life, it changes it, it makes you “a new creation”, that is you can start life anew, born again (John 3:3-7; 1 Pet. 1:23). You can fix, update, and add new cards to that old computer but it will never be the same as a new computer, with more power, more speed, more features. The power of Jesus’ blood “cleanses us from all sin” only “if” we walk in the light (1 John 1:7).
One last point about what is new v/s what is old. That is the name of the church. The church that Christ built is referred to throughout the New Testament in a variety of ways. Often times the Lord’s church is just referred to as “the church” as in Acts 2:47. Paul spoke of it as “the church of God” in Acts 20:28 and he referred to the church as “the church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15). The Hebrew writer wrote, “to the [a]general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven” (Heb. 12:23). Paul spoke of the redeemed as “the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col. 1:13). Ephesians 2:19 talks about “the household of God.” Paul mentioned a plurality of local churches when he said, “The churches of Christ greet you” (Rom. 16:16).
I implore you, open your Bible and like the Bereans search, “the Scriptures daily to find out”, if the name of the church of which you are a member is in there. If it is not, I submit that is a solid indication you are in the wrong church, and this is one thing you must change. No matter then name, you must also compare everything taught, how they worship, how they are organized and what work they do, “against what is written on the pages of God’s Holy Word.”
I know that one day, I pray soon, the Lord will take His church home to Heaven and deliver it to the Father (1 Cor. 15:24) and I would not want to be a member of any church that I cannot read about in the Bible! What about you?
In Love
David Scarpino
“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2)