Accumulation

The city of Peabody, Massachusetts, is probably is not familiar with many people in our area. However, I recognized the city because I have spent hundreds of dollars on books from a company that is located there.  I was startled when I saw the report on the Weather Channel that gave the snow totals for the weekend. Peabody topped the chart with more than 35 inches!

We all know how small snowflakes are, yet we also know that they blend together on the ground and accumulate. In their accumulated state, they can influence human behavior. Millions of tiny snowflakes can join together and result in an avalanche in  the mountains  or can  stall traffic in a sprawling metropolis.

This pondering over snow has brought me to some thoughts about other things that accumulate:

¨ Habits—The little things that we do day after day build upon one another. We take care of our bodies by practicing the habits of good hygiene and by making a habit of exercising. However, we can also damage our health by adopting poor habits. Many people have regretfully looked back on the accumulated effects of smoking, drinking, and other poor lifestyle choices.

¨ Hard feelings—Some people spend their lives building and feeding grudges against others. They are offended by some action and, even though it may be confessed and repented of, they continue to harbor ill will toward the offending party. Years go by and the feelings of hate and spite continue to build. After such accumulation, it is not uncommon to hear of bitter quarrels, assaults, or even murder.

¨ “Stuff”—If we are not careful, we will allow the acquiring of “things” to take over our life. All of us, at one time or another, have looked over our place of dwelling and wondered, “Where in the world did we get all this stuff?” Of course, the answer is that at the time we got it, each thing seemed to be important to us. There is nothing wrong with possessing things, but we must be careful and not allow those things to “possess” us. Jesus sounded a warning that we should all heed: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15, NKJV).

Little things add up. Let us be aware of the effects of accumulation of such things for good or ill.  —Lance Cordle