My Bulging Wallet

By Jon

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1

I have a bulging wallet.

Before anyone offers to relieve my burden, my wallet is not bulging with cash. Instead, it is filled with all sorts of random stuff.

Receipts from past purchases. Cards that I will not use anytime  in the foreseeable future. Coins that really should be in a coin pouch. And even a random note or two.

If anyone asks me why these things should be cluttering my wallet. I would simply answer that they are there – just in case.

I came to the realisation of my bulging wallet while watching an episode of the 1990s American comedy sitcom Seinfeld. In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld comments on the bulging wallet of his friend George Constanza.

George gets defensive and says: “This isn’t just my wallet. It’s an organizer, a memory and an old friend.”

However, just as George’s wallet has so much stuff that it hurts his back and eventually explodes,  our walk with Christ can sometimes be so laden with burdens that at some point, we just spiritually implode and collapse into ourselves.

In Thailand where many things are different from Singapore, I find myself thinking or preparing for things that may not happen. While I pray for wisdom and provision from God, I live as if it all depends on me. You know, just in case.

Christian author Max Lucado, in his book Traveling Light, provides insight for those who feel heavy-laden: “[God] promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future. We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow. We only need to know he leads us and we will find grace to help us when we need it”

Perhaps it is time to start decluttering my wallet and at the same time re-surrender my life to our loving and all-knowing God who promises us our daily bread and sustenance to the very end.