“People are more important to us in life than everything else. That certainly does not mean that the world of material things and practical achievements is of less value. But what is the most beautiful book or picture or house or estate compared to my wife, my parents, my friend? Yet the only person who can speak this way is one who has really found human companionship in life. For many today, people are nothing more than part of the world of things.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 509; quoted in Tony Reinke, 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You, 151) 

It’s mid-December, and many of us have been in the Christmastime atmosphere for quite some time already. We’ve decorated our homes and made our Christmas lists. We’ve connected with family and friends to set up our gift-giving groups. And now we are trying to finish buying presents.

All this indicates that lately we have been enthralled with stuff more than usual. We’ve been decorating with stuff, making lists of stuff we want, buying specific stuff for others, and even seeing more advertisements for stuff than normal. None of this is necessarily sinful, especially since it can be done well for God’s glory in celebration and love. But it does mean that it might be good for us to throw some sobering cold water onto our faces to remember that stuff merely has its place, and what a small place in the grand scheme of things it is.

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