January Chaplain's Reflections Published Jan. 4, 2013 By Capt. Alan Findley 169th Fighter Wing MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, South Carolina -- Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff! "...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Matthew 6:20a (ESV) A couple of years ago our roof started leaking. We were then faced with the mammoth task of removing everything from our attic. This task was so daunting I was ready to call the police and tell them the neighbors are illegally storing their stuff in our attic. However, upon closer examination I discovered everything belonged to us! In America we have so much stuff. With the holidays over, we are now storing our new stuff with the old stuff. Being a gadget person, I'm always looking for the next new iStuff. Sometimes, I'm so excited about the next "i-" device that the old one looks surprisingly worn, slow, boring, and outdated. Unfortunately, I am like most Americans drawn to the next new thing. Not many people leave home right after high school with a fully furnished house. Stuff seems to crawl into our houses, attics, and closets gradually. By the time we are aware of it, we need to rent a storage garage to keep all of our stuff. When we die all of our stuff we collected then goes to someone else. There is a verse that speaks of storing up treasures in heaven. The teaching behind the verse makes it clear we should not just live for things in this life. Instead of valuing the things on this earth, we should live for the next life. In living for the next life, we will make an impact in this life. We all have time, talents (skills or abilities), and treasures (valuable stuff) we can use to make an impact in this world and the world to come. Let us all sell or donate some of the stuff in our attics.