Wanting More for Your Home

Do you feel like you’re stuck in a cycle of continually wanting more for your home? Let’s get to the heart of the matter!

Take just a moment and think about your home. Really consider it. What do you like most about where you live right now? What do you wish you could change?

When you think about all of the things you appreciate about where you live, how many of them include your location or the actual construction of your home? How many of your favorite things are your belongings? And how many favorites are the intangibles … things you can’t physically see or touch, but you feel a certain way?

And when you consider everything you’d like to change or the things you wish you were different, what includes your home’s location or construction? Which belongings do you wish you could change? And what intangibles need a massive improvement?

Can consumerism bring lasting satisfaction?

We live in a culture that encourages consumerism. If we would only buy more and continue buying more, we can continue the quest for better. Yet if we follow that empty pursuit, we end up never truly appreciating what we actually have. We never relax in contentment,

Here’s a massive question about any consumeristic tendencies: once you’ve given in, do you experience lasting satisfaction?

Sometimes, depending on what you purchased, you may be able to be confident and comfortable in the fact that yes, the purchase you made was what you needed and you are pleased that you made the purchase. You even might enjoy that satisfaction months or years after you made the purchase. If so, wonderful!

Other times, though, you might experience guilt or regret after you’ve bought something. Or you might continue to question yourself if you really should’ve made the purchase. Still another reaction may be forgetting that you made the purchase and mentally moving on to wanting whatever is next.

If you wrestle with discontentment even after your home purchases, it’s wise to figure out why. What seems to be at the heart of your dissatisfaction? Why do you want something more or something different?

Where is your treasure?

After you’ve recognized your discontentment and spend time digging to the root cause, it’s a good time to weigh your thoughts and feelings against the truth of scripture. What does God’s Word say about our belongings?

Jesus taught directly about this topic in His Sermon on the Mount. As Matthew 6:19-21 shares:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Each of us need to individually answer an obvious question: Where is your treasure?

If you have any doubt, honestly figure out where your heart is. Your heart’s allegiance and adoration bluntly reveals what you treasure.

Now that you’ve discerned what you’ve set your heart on and what you consider to be your treasure, how does it align with Christ’s command? Are you focused on storing up treasures here on earth? Are you focused on storing up treasures in your house? Or are you working toward eternal treasures that are being stored up in heaven?

These questions cut to the hearts of the listeners in Jesus’ time. And more than ever, these questions should cut to our hearts. It’s never been easier to get distracted by storing up earthly treasures.

Not only can we go to physical stores to buy pretty much all we can imagine, but online shopping makes it easier than ever to search for exactly what you’d like, then order it and have it delivered to your home. One-click shopping has made it so easy to purchase anything you’d like without even considering what you’re doing.

What’s the heart of the matter?

Jesus didn’t end His teaching with the call to store up treasures in heaven, though. He continued by getting to the heart of the matter:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:24-27).

This whole big picture of treasures boils down to a couple of massive issues in our lives. First is considering and admitting what we serve. Do we serve money? Do we worship and love money the most in our lives? Or do we serve God? Do we worship and love Him?

While you may be quick to answer, linger a while and truly consider what your life points to. From the way you choose to use your time to the way you choose to spend your money, what do you really treasure? What do you really serve?

How does the uncertainty of life make you feel?

After you’ve discerned your master, consider your purchases and thoughts of your belongings through the lens of anxiety. Are you hoping that the things you buy will somehow protect you from something? Do you fear not having enough? Where is this fear based?

Again, some frank self-examination could help you get to the root of the cause of much of your thought patterns and behaviors. Once you figure out why you think the way you do, it’s time to start bringing your life into alignment with the Bible.

If you regularly feel anxious about your belongings and provisions, how can you remind yourself to trust the Lord? How can you begin to trust Him more?
If you know you’re serving your finances with devotion, what do you need to do to put God in His rightful place?
And if you’re consumed with thoughts and ideas of all the ways you can build up your treasures right here and now, how can you turn your attention and adoration to the eternal?

Only you can answer these questions.

Pray for the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you any truths–even the things that may hurt to hear.

As you do, it might be surprising to see what you want for your home. You may want less belongings and more of the Lord’s presence. You may care less about how your home is furnished or finished and begin to care more of the way you’re serving the God of the universe with every part of your life.

Looking to establish peace in your home?

If you’re looking for a way to establish peace in your home, begin by ordering your priorities in a way that keeps God in His rightful place. Keep Him, your Protector and Provider, at the center and watch everything else fall into their rightful places.

Do you feel content and at peace with your home? Or do you struggle with continually wanting more? What do you think is the cause of your feelings?

Hilary

Hilary Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, homeschooling mama, and writer who helps women experience God's perfect peace in messy, imperfect life. She's happiest when she's hosting friends and family for dinner, going on date nights with her husband, singing along to the radio, traveling with her family, and spending cozy nights at home. The author of fifteen books,Hilary also is Women's Ministry Director at The Chapel in Green, Ohio.