The world has seen some strange collections. Is there something innately a part of our human nature that causes us to want to collect stuff? People collect all kinds of interesting things: oil paintings, sculptures, political campaign buttons, guns, stamps, coins. Francis Johnson of Darwin, Minnesota, has collected string since 1950. When I read about him, his ball of string measured over 10 feet in diameter and weighed five tons.
I once met a man in Dallas who had collected more than 4,000 hotel keys. (He told me of another collector who had made off with more than 10,000.)
But perhaps the prize for the most unusual collection goes to Italian dentist Giovanni Battista Orsenigo, who by 1903 had a collection of 2,000,744 teeth. How would you like to have been one of his patients? Would it be reassuring to know that your teeth would be stored up for posterity?
In Isaiah 39, the prophet speaks to unfaithful Hebrew kings who had stored up the wealth of nations they had conquered. Great storehouses of gold and silver objects, expensive garments, fine armor and objects of art were a sign of power some kings thought would last forever. Unfortunately, these collections wound up in the hands of their enemies.
In contrast, 1 Timothy 6:18 tells us to "be rich in good works." That's the only type of collection that lasts-the type you give away. Think of Dorcas, whose collection of garments she made for the poor not only became treasure in heaven, but whose story has lasted so long it's become the heritage of millions (see Acts 9:36-43).
What kind of collection are you acquiring?
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