I lived in a condominium for most of my adult life, so when I finally moved into my house I couldn’t wait to have a garage sale! I spent weeks going through closets and storage areas to gather items for the sale, and then putting price tags on everything. I was excited to make some money! And what a bargain my customers were going to get! All my items were reasonably priced, and I even put ‘free’ stickers on all of the religious items. As I looked over these ‘free’ items, I anticipated the opportunity to share Christ with anyone who might notice them.
The day of the sale arrived and business was pretty good. I was a little overwhelmed since I was running the ‘store’ alone. As customers picked through the racks and tables, I found myself promising to give away items for free if they didn’t sell by the end of the day. A little bit of the real me was trying to surface after all as I was getting swept away by dollar signs.
When the end of the day came, no one returned for the end-of-day freebies and all of the ‘free’ religious items were still there. It was then that I began to feel sad. I missed my chance to bring Christ to the sale. Placing ‘free’ sticker on bibles, crosses and plaques is not witnessing for Christ, and I didn’t even bother to point them out in case the customers did not notice them. As I was soon to find out, however, Christ would not think these to be my worst crimes. When I began to pray about it, I saw my garage sale replayed in my mind, and noticed that most of my customers were poor. I saw myself actually charging them money for the things they wanted. I was letting them leave when they couldn’t afford items that they might have needed.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Matthew 25:41-45.
My garage sale was a chance for me to give without price tags, to help people who were not expecting to get something for free, and for me to share Christ by my actions of unselfish giving.
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” 1John 3:14
I was ashamed at myself and begged God to forgive me. I gave all the money from the garage sale to the church, brought all of the unsold merchandise to the Salvation Army, and instead of going home to count my money, I counted my blessings. I thank God from the bottom of my heart for showing me my error and giving me a chance to ask for forgiveness. I thank Him for counting me worthy to serve Him. If I ever have another garage sale, there won’t be a need for a cash box.
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36
Patricia Quigley