Sell It!

Don’t Just Get Rid of Your Stuff, Sell It!

Don’t Just Get Rid of Your Stuff. Sell It!
By Rick Warren

“Get rid of every idol” (Ezekiel 20:7a TLB).

If you’re stuck in the debt trap, you need to get rid of some of your stuff. In fact, you need to have a sale this week if you are paying rent on a storage container. When you’ve got so much stuff it won’t even fit in your house, you’ve got a problem. You’re paying rent just to keep stuff! You need to have a garage sale.

If you’re in debt and you can’t save and you can’t tithe and you can’t pay your taxes and you’re living on credit, you need to go through your things and ask, “What can we get rid of?”

You might say, “But Rick, it’s already paid off! Why should I sell it?” One of the reasons you might sell it is so you don’t have to maintain it. In my entire life I’ve never worried about barnacles. Why? Because I don’t own a boat. If I want a boat, I can go rent one or borrow one. You don’t have to own something to be able to enjoy it.

If you look at your belongings and decide there are just some things you could never part with or it’s something God told you to give away and you couldn’t, you need to understand this: You do not own that thing. It owns you! You are possessed by your possessions.

There’s a word for that. An idol is anything besides God that you decide you can’t live without. The Bible says, “Get rid of every idol” (Ezekiel 20:7a TLB).

But don’t just get rid of it. Sell it! It is one of the most practical steps you can take to getting out of debt and changing your financial mindset — so that you can then honor God with your spending and saving.

Talk It Over

• What possessions do you possibly value above your relationships?
• What practical steps can you take this week to clean out the unnecessary items in your life?
• How could having a garage sale help change your mindset about your finances?