I had just bought a good pair of headphones.
As a music lover, I enjoyed listening to music with it, and I protected it seriously. Anyone who loves music will understand. When you finally buy a good pair of headphones, you handle it carefully, you arrange it well, and you make sure nothing happens to it.
But that was when God used the situation to teach me something important about relationships and possessions.
One day, not long after I bought it, my younger brother came to borrow the headphones. He was going out for an outing and wanted to listen to music along the way.
Honestly, I hesitated.
Something in me feared it would get spoilt, so I tried not to give it to him.
But he begged and begged. He promised he would take good care of it. I warned him that I would be terribly unhappy if anything went wrong with it. He assured me he would be extremely careful and that nothing would happen.
Well… you already know how the story ended.
He came back. And the headphones were broken.
My heart sank.
I wanted to be angry, just as I had promised earlier. But at that moment, God asked me a quiet question in my heart.
“What do you value more, the relationship or the stuff?”
I quietly went inside and cried. I knew how much I had paid for the headphones, and it was painful that it was broken so soon.
But God was teaching me something else.
My brother was more important than the headphones.
The Wireless Mouse
Another time, a group of disciples came to our house for a meeting.
At that time, I had just purchased a new wireless mouse. It was still fresh and working perfectly. One of the disciples wanted to help operate the TV and adjust some things. He was not very technical, but he was eager to help.
Along the line, he accidentally stepped on my mouse. And just like that, it broke into pieces. Completely finished.
Now tell me honestly, how would you feel in that moment?
Exactly.
But again, the question returned.
Is the relationship more important, or the stuff?
The Real Issue
The issue is this.
Many times people hurt us by damaging things. Sometimes it is accidental. Sometimes it is careless. Sometimes it simply happens. And yes, those things may be precious to us. They may even be expensive.
But they are still material things.
Jesus warned about allowing possessions to take hold of our hearts:
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Luke 12:15
Let me ask you something.
Since those incidents happened:
How many headphones have I used since then?
How many earpieces and earpods have passed through my hands?
How many computer mouses have I bought since that time?
Many.
Life moved on. New things came.
But the real question is this:
Did I allow stuff destroy my relationship with those people?
Thank God I didn’t. Today, I still have a great relationship with my brother. I still have my relationship with that disciple.
And those relationships are worth far more than a broken gadget.
Stuff Can Be Replaced, People Cannot!
In life, there will always be opportunities to choose between stuff and people.
Sometimes a sibling damages something.
Sometimes a colleague spoils something.
Sometimes a church member mishandles something.
Sometimes even a child breaks something valuable.
Sometimes your child’s classmate or teacher damages something.
Things may break.
But relationships must not.
Scripture encourages us to protect our relationships through patience and forgiveness:
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.”
Colossians 3:13
Yes, we should protect our belongings. That is good stewardship. But we must protect our relationships even more. Because material things can be replaced.
Protect Your Stuff, but Protect Your Relationships More.
So dear brother, dear sister,
Headphones can be replaced.
Computer mouses can be replaced.
Phones and gadgets can be replaced.
Plates, cups and vases can be replaced
But a broken relationship is far harder to repair.
Protect your stuff, but protect your relationships more.
At the end of the day, when all the gadgets are gone, people are still what truly matter.
Whether it is a sibling, parent or child, a colleague at work or a member in church, that relationship is far more valuable than any material thing that may get affected.
So in the moments when you must choose, remember this simple wisdom.
Protect your stuff, but protect your relationships more.