On our recent vacation, we stopped in Memphis to tour Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate. It was interesting wandering through his home, his planes, and the exhibits containing his clothes, awards, pictures, motorcycles, cars, etc. His music was playing in the background everywhere we went, and I was reminded again of what a beautiful voice he had. What a gift!

Then we arrived at the Meditation Garden, and there was his grave. He’s dead, folks—really dead! It was a somber moment as we acknowledged that with all his wealth, he died and took none of it with him. Sadly, he is worth more in death than in life. While he had $5 million in his bank account when he died, his estate which belongs to his daughter Lisa Marie now earns $35 million a year off tourists like me who come to gawk or worse yet worship the “King of Rock and Roll.”

I also found it fascinating that while he recorded 600 songs and starred in 36 movies, he earned only three Grammys—all for gospel music. His recordings of How Great Thou Art and He Touched Me still thrill my soul.

After about 20 years of fame and fortune, though, he died a tragic death. His love affair with prescription drugs led to a heart attack in his bathroom while he was reading The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus by Frank O. Adams, a book about the legitimacy of the shroud of Turin. How poignant that even in death he was seeking the divine.

History tells us that he was saved at a young age, and I believe he was. He seems, though, to have been seriously distracted by the glamour of this world. And then he died.

After returning from my trip, I toured another home not far from where I live. At the other end of the wealth spectrum, this modest home is part of an estate sale. It was cluttered from top to bottom. It looked as if it had not been cleaned in years and that the occupants literally climbed out of bed one morning and left it as it was. Christmas trees still stood in the house. Massive collections of figurines lined the walls. Old computers and printers, record players, pictures from the past, diplomas on the walls—all left behind. The refrigerators and freezer still contained food. Apparently, there were no family members that treasured anything in the house. Perhaps the owners had no children or their relatives didn’t want their “stuff.”

Sad. Very sad. Another stark reminder that we all leave this world as we came into it—with nothing–and all our “stuff” is left for others to dispose of—whether to be treasured or sold to strangers at an estate sale or taken to the garbage dump.

For a number of years, I, too, wrestled with the enticement of “stuff.” At one time, I was a shopaholic who spent hours searching for the latest fashions. We built a beautiful house, bought fine cars, and had too much “stuff.” And we were miserable. It was the lowest point in our marriage.

When we finally realized, as Fanny Crosby put it, that we “had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other,” we sold the big fine house with the big mortgage. I shopped less, and we drove our cars until they were seriously “used.” I finally figured out that all the “stuff” is not important when compared to eternal blessings. As Jesus said: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:19-20 NLT)

Don’t get me wrong. I have to admit that it is easy to slip back into my old ways and let my eyes shift from the Lord to the world. I try to remember to thank him every day that I live in a comfortable house, drive a good car, and have plenty to eat, and I sincerely try not to get off track by yielding to the allure of “stuff.” In this world where we are bombarded by dazzle and bling, though, it is sometimes hard to stay focused on the important.

Oh, to be more like our wonderful role model, Paul, who said near the end of his life: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.  No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:12-14 NLT)

What about you? Are you struggling with the seduction of this world and its temptations, or have you figured out that it has nothing for us and that as citizens of heaven we are aliens in a foreign land? Have you thought about the legacy you want to leave to those who follow you? Is it “stuff” or something of eternal value?

Isaiah warned us well:

“How foolish are those who manufacture idols.
These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know this,
so they are all put to shame.
Who but a fool would make his own god—
an idol that cannot help him one bit?
 All who worship idols will be disgraced
along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—
who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
but they will stand in terror and shame.” (Isaiah 44:9-11 NLT)

It is my prayer that we are all looking forward to our eternal inheritance:

^“Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” 1 Peter 1:4-5

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear from you. Many blessings!