G.H. Charnley, in The Skylark's Bargain, tells the story of a young skylark who discovered one day a man who would give him worms for a feather. He made a deal-one feather for two worms. The next day the lark was flying high in the sky with his father. The older bird said, "You know, son, we skylarks should be the happiest of all birds. See our brave wings! They lift us high in the air, nearer and nearer to God."

But the young bird did not hear, for all he saw was an old man with worms. Down he flew, plucked two feathers from his wings and had a feast. Day after day this went on. Autumn came and it was time to fly south. But the young skylark couldn't do it. He had exchanged the power of his young wings for worms.

Workers in Spain were busy this past week, carting off 154 tons of garbage from the home of a man who lives outside the city of Madrid. It took city workers in face masks two weeks to clear out the trash this man had accumulated.

Neighbors had complained about the mess for years, and the city had even asked the man to clean up his home, but each time he refused to cooperate.

Spanish newspapers reported that the city was forced to get a court order to remove the piles of garbage. The house was so packed with stuff from tin cans to car parts that the owner had burrowed out a small living space.

For comparison sake, the 154 tons of garbage filled 30 large trucks. The amount of garbage in this one house was equivalent to the amount of garbage an American family of four would generate in 50 years.

Jesus warned his disciples to be on guard against all kinds of greed because a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (Luke 12:15) There are times when we feel like our lives are so full of stuff, that we barely have room to live. Jesus is waiting to remove the stuff that clutters our lives. He will cart away the trash, and show us a full life focused on one thing, His kingdom.

Let's remember his admonition, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Hilary Swank, an Oscar winning actor makes millions of dollars for each film. It wasn’t always that way. Abandoned by her father, Hilary and her mother lived in a dilapidated Oldsmobile while she went to auditions. Today, she could afford to shop at the swankiest shops and purchase the toys of the millionaires, but her childhood poverty taught her to be frugal. She buys her clothes at the Gap and her shoes at Payless. She clips coupons to get the best deals.

--The Week, September 17, 2010 p. 12 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Real wealth does not come from the things we possess. Real wealth comes to those who are godly and content. I do not know Ms. Swank’s spiritual condition. It does sound as if she has discovered the basis of contentment.

The lesson for each of us is clear. Love the Lord and be content, thus achieving the greatest wealth in the world.

1 Timothy 6:8-10 (NIV) “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (9) People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

When a commercial product becomes a fad, it seems like every one wants one. It happened this way with the iPad. The tablet computer from Apple was so hot people would do almost anything to get one. A seventeen-year-old Chinese boy wanted one bad enough that he was willing to sell his right kidney in return.

Little Zheng, as he is identified, without his parent’s permission arranged with an organ broker for the surgery in return for the equivalent of $3000 dollars which he used to purchase an iPad 2. Zheng is having some health complications and regrets his decision.

--The Week, June 17, 2011 p. 12, (http://www.pcworld.com/article/229318/kid_sells_kidney_for_ipad_2_regrets_transaction.html) Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 (NASB) (10) He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity. (11) When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? (12) The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

Flight attendants often find items that air passengers have left behind. A recent survey turned up “a live parrot, a box of dried fish, a toupee, handcuffs, and a glass eye.” --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Matthew 6:19 (ESV) (19) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

With enough money, a person can replace anything, even some of the responsibilities of parenting. Some New York City parents are now paying professionals up to $1,000 to pack their kids' summer camp gear. They fill their trunks with comforts such as French-milled soaps, 1,000 -thread-count sheets, and scented candles.

No longer can we expect our children to rough-it in a sleeping bag under the pines. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

1 Timothy 6:8-9 (HCSB) (8) But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. (9) But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.

In a Norfolk, Virginia courtroom, a teenager pleaded to the charge he murdered both his parents. The young honor student with no criminal history explained the reason he committed the crime. He explained that he’d gotten angry over routine punishments. “I just remember getting mad,” 16-year-old Vincent Parker told investigators. “It’s all from my dad. All this stuff like my dad taking away my iPod and stuff.”

The desire for possessions overcomes basic goodness in a culture obsessed with material things. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

http://time.com/138601/teen-kills-parents-because-they-took-his-ipod/

1 Timothy 6:10 (HCSB) (10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

A driver in South Yorkshire picked up his new Ferrari 430 Scuderia from the dealer and started home. On a wet road, he lost control of the $258,000 auto sending it airborne, and burst into flames. After owning it for one hour, the high-performance supercar was reduced to a flaming twisted wreck.

That is faster than it usually happens, but our physical valuables all eventually are reduced to nothing. Only that which is stored in heaven endures. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/man-has-miracle-escape-after-crashing-newly-acquired-200-000-ferrari-on-m1-in-yorkshire-1-8674372

Matthew 6:19 (CSB) “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”

In Goodbye Things, Fumio Sasaki writes, “The glory of acquisition starts to dim with use, eventually changing to boredom as the item no longer elicits even a bit of excitement. This is the pattern of everything in our lives. No matter how much we wish for something, over time it becomes a normal part of our lives, and then a tired old item that bores us, even though we did actually get our wish.” —Jim L. Wilson

The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

In Goodbye Things, Fumio Sasaki writes, “Psychologist Tim Kasser stresses that the enrichment of time will lead directly to happiness, while the enrichment of material objects will not.” —Jim L. Wilson

Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.

In Goodbye Things, Fumio Sasaki writes, “Why do we own so many things when we don’t need them? What is their purpose? I think the answer is quite clear: we’re desperate to convey our worth, our own value to others. We use objects to tell people how valuable we are.” —Jim L. Wilson

It is easy to try to “fix our lives” by accumulating more stuff. However, things we buy can never solve our emotional and spiritual problems.

In her book, Jesus over Everything, Lisa Whittle writes, “If I’d been honest with myself in so many of the moments I’d hid behind my swiped debit card, Jesus could have helped me.”

The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.