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When I was a teen boy one of my favorite bands was “38 Special.” They had a hit called, “Hold on Loosely.” The first verse and chorus of the song go like this. You see it all around you, Good lovin' gone bad, And usually it's too late when you, realize what you had. And my mind goes back to a girl I left some years ago (Who told me), Just hold on loosely, But don't let go, If you cling to tightly, You're gonna lose control. I didn't realize it back then, but I certainly do now. There is a lot of truth in those words. As human beings we tend to be cling to, or try to hold on tightly to, things we love!!! We hold onto things. We hold onto people. We hold onto titles. We cling onto, we clutch these thing tightly.... Desiring good things, holding onto these things is not always bad, especially when they are loved ones. There is nothing harder then going to the funeral of a loved one and realizing you have to let go, that you will no longer be able to hold onto that person ever again, at least not in this life. The down side of holding on tightly to earthly things is that God can't fill hands that are already full. There is a poem entitled, “Treasures” written by Martha Snell Nicholson that explains this thought well.
One by one He took them from me, All the things I valued most, Until I was empty-handed; Every glittering toy was lost. And I walked earth’s highways, grieving. In my rags and poverty. Till I heard His voice inviting, “Lift your empty hands to Me!” So I held my hands toward heaven, And He filled them with a store Of His own transcendent riches, Till they could contain no more. And at last I comprehended With my stupid mind and dull, That God COULD not pour His riches Into hands already full!
Matthew 6: 19-21 NIV “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.
When we loosen our grip on earthly things it can be difficult, even painful at times. But when we trust God, even when we can't understand why, God provides solutions that teach us to live with open hands. In order to hang onto earhtly things you must grip them tightly, but when your loosen your grip, when you open up your hands. The rewards God provides will surpass anything we could imagine! The world will say that you are so heavely minded that your of no earthly good, but I say the opposite is true, if your to earthly minded, if you hang on to tightly to earthly things, then you are of no heavely good! The more things we have, the more our things seem to have us. We start to organize our lives around them and spend money to maintain them. You may not want to hear this but hoarding is a form of idolatry. It puts something other than God at the center of your life. Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” meaning that we will center our lives around what we value most!!!
Luke 12:18 NIV “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
If we prioritize the wrong things, our lives will go off the rails. So “hold on loosely” to the things of this of this earth. The chorus of the hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus,” sums things up well. Turn your eyes up Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
