We've all heard the phrase "pack rat." Maybe you've even been accused of being one...you know, the type who never throws anything away. Any odd item that is suddenly needed, the "pack rat" will have it because he is the one who justifies his nature by saying, "You never know when you might need..."

I would guess most of us have felt like "pack rats" when it comes time to clean out a garage or closet. Junk even seems to become like rats...multiplying at a pace faster than we can find room to store it. The "pack rat" has an obsession (either major or minor) with things, and it is upon this premise that we direct your attention.

Solomon teaches in Eccl. 2:26 that the sinner (the one living apart from God) has busied himself with the "...task of gathering and collecting." A life lived without concern for God and His will makes one nothing more than a glorified "pack rat" who spends his whole life doing nothing more than pursuing possessions and finding some way to use or store them. Yes, Solomon also says one of the joys of life "under the sun" is to eat and drink from the fruit of one's labor (Eccl. 5:18). However, that does not mean such activities ought to define us. A bumper sticker once read, "Whoever collects the most toys wins." Wins what?!? Jesus has already informed us our life, our existence is not defined by what we can collect and own (Lk. 12:15).

Being such a "pack rat" is the essence of futility. Solomon teaches such a one will only be "gathering and collecting" for others, not himself. This is why such a pursuit is "vanity and striving after wind" (Eccl. 2:26). The rich farmer in Jesus' parable had to be reminded of this same principle (Lk. 12:20).

We don't enter into this world as a "pack rat" and we sure won't leave this world as a successful one, either. We come in empty and we will leave in the same fashion (1 Tim. 6:7). The old saying is trite, but true..."When was the last time you saw a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer?"

We all know our culture encourages such a materialistic pursuit, but we don't have to engage in it. If we want to store anything up, it should be that "...good foundation for the time to come...eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:19).