DE-BAGGAGE

"He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour" (Psalms 112:9). 

Travelling with excess luggage has never been a wise thing to do when on a journey. Apart from the physical inconveniences, excess luggage take up spaces that could have been put to better use. Excess loads could also mean additional cost of transportation. And when you manage to reach your destination with all the excess loads, you will eventually find that you have used the resources you need to convey the things you really don't need. Wasted efforts and wasted resources are the typical results of travelling with excess baggage, especially when you really don't need the items. 

So it is with the journey of life. Too often, the average person carries with him things he hardly ever needs. Our wardrobes are filled with clothes we have not put on in the last one year or more. Displayed on our shoe racks are shoes we have not used, sometimes for years. Some of us have jewelleries we have not even looked at for a long while. Move into our kitchens and you find pots that have not seen the burners for years. Our cabinets contain plates, cups and cutleries that have not been privileged to visit the dining room for many, many years. These things ought not to be. 

Then there are those toys that your last child who is now ten years old used. And a look around the house shows a number of others things you have not touched for decades lying idle, rotting away, just because you don't know how to offload excess stuff. When Zacchaeus met Jesus, he realized the need to offload the excess resources he had by giving away half of his goods to the poor. Friends, it is time to 'de-baggage', it's time to shed off some of the needless loads you are harbouring, and there is no better time to do so other than now. 

Come to think of it, you have suffered no harm as a result of not using these things all this while. Certainly, you will suffer no harm if you do away with them. Your not using them has not devalued your life. So we know that doing away with them will not bring down your value in life. On the other hand, these same items will add value to some other people and change their lives for the better, maybe even forever. It is time to understand that God's blessings are not intended as status symbols; God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others. This is the truth the rich young ruler could not understand. 

So my friends, 'de-baggage'! Do it fast! Don't continue with those excess loads. Surely you don't need them and you can do without them. Someone else truly needs those things lying idle with you. Let go, my dear friends. If you let go, you would become free and you will have space for better things. Again, if you offload to bless others, you would have done the will of God and God will reward you