Toy Collection & Treasure Storage

Jesus Christ set of Matryoshka Nesting Dolls found on Ebay

Luke 12:13-21

Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

I mentioned in an earlier entry that you don't have to be rich to collect art. Their are several different ways to become an art collector on a budget. You can tap into the work of undiscovered artists and art students. You can go to estate sales and snatch up the finds of rich dead people. You can also become involved in one of the new emerging niche art markets before it grows too pricey. One of these new areas is Toy Art. It is more than collecting Beanie Babies in hopes that their value will go through the roof in a decade. Their a several serious, famous, contemporary artists who focus on raising the bar on how toys and collectibles are viewed. There are also scores of artists and craftsmen who sell through sites like Etsy. Many view Japan as the center of this whimsical aesthetic genre. That may be true, but for my toy art viewing I keep it old school and look back to Mother Russia! If you know me... I mean like really, really know me, then there is a slight chance that you may possibly be aware that I am secretly obsessed with Russia. This has been the case my whole life. Hey, I'm a Cold War kid! I was born into an era when the news was saturated with tales of the Soviets and the "frenemy" relationship between Gorbachev and Reagan. In elementary school I was looking through my family's book closet and discovered that my mom had an introduction to Russian textbook from a high school class. I would look at the neat backwards R's and try and teach myself words. I even would bring it to school and covertly stunt with it at the cafeteria (#nerdballerstatus). I would call my grandfather up (who used to teach Russian Literature) and talk about their amazing art. Then in high school I discovered that besides the standard foreign language courses in Spanish and French there were also two satellite TV instructed courses offered in Japanese and Russian... I think that you know which one I picked. Over the years I have consumed the images in various Russian graphics and printmaking books and even Fritz Eichenberg's (a German/American) illustrations for Russian classic writers like Dostoevsky. Even to this day I scour the Internet for stories of Russian billionaires balling out and doing hood-tastic things like parking their Noah's Ark sized yacht outside of New York City and getting the exterior of their BMW X6 covered in leather... yes, I said the exterior. So naturally when I started this blog I noticed when this blog site started getting a few international hits...from Russia! I ran to my wife and exclaimed, "The Russians have finally accepted me as one of their own!" Currently Russians still lead any other international group of visitors to my blog by 100 hits. To any of my Russian readers I say "Привет и спасибо за посещение." Thank you Google translate. In 1890 Vasily Zvyozdochkin created the first Matryoshka dolls. The word matryoshka is similar to the English word "matron" and describes how each toy has a lineage to the one that it was cut out of. Each doll begets another one in the birthing process. It is also referred to as the "Babushka" (meaning grandmother) doll or the "Russian nesting doll." He  received a Bronze medal for their design in Paris and they have been worldwide sellers ever since. To many these "nesting dolls are a symbol of Russia. They are made from one block of wood and cut out of each other. After the exterior is illustrated each doll serves as storage of other dolls (that are one size smaller). Besides the initial excitement of finding another toy inside of your toy with another toy inside of that one (it's the gift that keeps on giving), the charm to the matryoshka to collectors is that these handmade treasures can be personalized to any interests. Besides the normal grandmother looking matryoshkas and the religious matryoshkas, I have discovered Russian president and Soviet premiers matryoshkas, US presidents matryoshkas, British royal family matryoshkas, Beatles matryoshka and Golden Girls matryoshkas... sitting around on the lanai eating cheesecake. The toy art of matryoshka dolls also fits within the same design and functional art category as ornate treasure chests and ornamented jewelry boxes. They are all a way for the owner to store their valuables. It reveals what the owner treasures and protects. Today's parable creates a matryoshka situation of its own. It makes the reader ask one question nested inside another, which is nested inside yet a larger question. What are you are storage device for? What is your treasure? What is your security?

What are you a storage device for? Matryoshka dolls are storage devices for other dolls matryoshka dolls. The more you search the more you find are other dolls. If someone where to search within you what would they find? I mean besides organs, blood undigested beef and maybe a baby (if you're a woman). What if they were to search what was in your heart (metaphorically speaking)? This question comes to mind when reading Jesus' parable in Luke 12:13-21. In this episode Jesus gets a question yelled at him like a heckler at a comedy show. Jesus is asked about inheritance issue. The questioner is one of two brothers engaged in a feud over inheritance. Jesus replies by refusing to be the arbitrator of their grievances. He does, however, warn the brother of a greater potential loss. One that is of greater worth than money and possessions. "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Coveting? Does Jesus suspect that this one brother is desiring more than his fair share of the inheritance? Not necessarily. Coveting is not just about being obsessed with your neighbor's possessions. It is about being obsessed with possessions themselves, even your own. Moses' tenth commandment warns against the envious desire for another's things, but Jesus sees a greater general principle nested within it. Christ sees a danger in materialism. That is the heart of the 10th commandment. Christ sees that this man is a storage container for covetousness. The problem is that the space in his heart is limited and the storage that he uses for earthly goods is slowly emptying out the contents of his soul. His pursuit for financial riches has strained his love for his family and left him spirituality poor. In gaining everything this man has been left with nothing.

What is your treasure? We all have our desires and if we are successful in attaining them then these desires lead to collections. Even though I've always hated baseball my whole life, I still managed to gather a very respectable baseball card collection in my youth. I even owned a Hank Aaron card and a Reggie Smith autograph. Those were the treasures of my youth. I desired them. I sought after them. I collected them. I stored them and showed them off with pride to select friends. Then I lost them all in Hurricane Katrina...or maybe my mom threw them away because they were stored in a grocery bag in my closet. Either way the point is the same: I invested in something that bought me temporary happiness, a few bucks and respect of my youthful peers but in the end it proved to be just another thing that can be taken away. Jesus' parable is about a rich man's treasures and the storage of these possessions. His treasure was more practical. It was the crops that he harvested on his farm. It was literally the fruit of his labor. Even though it was treasure that was rightfully his (like the brother that Jesus is speaking to) he discovered that he is in danger of losing his soul. Jesus ends the story by warning, "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” What does it mean to "be rich toward God." It means being rich of the things of God. But what does that mean? Wealth is measured in the currency of the given market. I can be rich in US dollars but if I move to a Euro member state then suddenly my wealth has decreased because US currency isn't worth as much in that market. Before paper money and coinage, the currency of the time was the barter system. One could barter (or trade) gold or goats (which ever possession you were rich in) to obtain other goods, services or pay off debts. But the barter system only works if your possessions are desirable in that specific market. So the question is: are your treasures valuable to God? Are they enough to settle your debt with Him? Are you saving up baseball cards to barter your way into Heaven? If our treasures are not the spiritual riches of faith, holiness, love and mercy then they are not suitable to God. These spiritual virtues are God's currency. Earlier last week we read Ecclesiastes and listened as King Solomon lamented the vanities of this world. Solomon possessed many things that were understood as valuable: riches, wisdom, land, love affairs, soldiers and accomplishments. Yet in the end these treasures only brought problems... or rather they only revealed Solomon's problems with consumption. All of Solomon's vain collections of gold, power, learning and women were worthless toys when compared to the true riches of God. They were worthless toys that he would leave behind when he died.

What is your security? Charlie Brown's friend Linus carried around a security blanket. No doubt the blanket couldn't stop bullets or even a strong yank from Snoopy, but it filled a need to be warmed and sheltered from fear. Possessions give a false sense of security. How many times have you logged into your mobile banking app to get a sigh of relief? The idea is that these assets will ensure your safety in times of need (be they near or afar). It is important to invest in financial protection but greater than that is our need to invest in eternal assets. Sometimes we can be lead to think that money can even lead to spiritual security. It may be a popular thing to hear religious circles today but it is not new. Martin Luther started the Reformation in response to a travelling preacher John Tetzel. Tetzel was a German Dominican preacher commissioned by the Church as an evangelist/fundraiser. He was sent to towns preaching the sale of indulgences. The concept was that if you gave to the Church's building campaign then you would receive a certificate that ensured that your love ones would get less time suffering in Purgatory. John Tetzel even had a little song/rhyme to go with it, "As soon as money in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory's fire springs." It amounted to a religious get out of jail free card and it enraged Martin Luther into protesting this and other offences. It was so infuriating because it just isn't true. Money can be used to do much good but without a saved soul you are just a sinner who happens to be a benefactor of the Church. Your giving money to God does not lessen your sins or pay for your relative's ransom. Investing in the Kingdom of God is not just about giving to the poor (though that's vitally important) it's not about giving to the church (and yes that's important too). I say that because it can lead to thinking that our problems with money can be solved by money. Like money can be redeemed by giving it to the right places. Now I am not against money. Money is at best neutral. It has its purposes. The problem with money is a problem with its possessor. Money cannot be redeemed but we can. The investment in God's currency does not involve money. It involves investments in your soul. The story that Jesus tells centers around agriculture. Maybe you never thought about it this way but farming is an investment industry. You make a deposit of seeds into the ground and the returns that are yielded are plants/fruit. Notice that actual money is nowhere in this transaction. Money can help (like buying you seeds, tools or fertilizer if they are not given to you freely) but money cannot be deposited in the ground with the expectation of a money tree to grow. Investments (agricultural and otherwise) will only give back what is placed into them. If your desire is to receive a spiritual return then your deposit must be spiritual. Like many others, the rich man had spent much time and effort investing in everything but what counted the most. He did not sew anything spiritually so he did not reap anything spiritually (at least anything good). It was the one true thing that would grant him true security. Upon first glance the rich man seems like a man that one would describe as prudent. He seems to grasp the idea of maintaining inventory and reducing product loss. His desire to expand the business is actually based in bettering his accounting practices. He also obviously has a mastery of his trade. So much so that he has gained a profit... a large profit. But what does it profit a man even if he were to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul? That is why the Lord calls him a "Fool"... but unlike Mr. T, the Lord has no pity on this fool. When God took his own spiritual inventory of the spiritual treasure that the rich man had gathered, He found nothing. His silos were overflowing with grain but his soul was empty. Since the rich man had not settled his account with God he was met with judgment and not mercy.

Even tough this is an entry about toys it could not be more serious. Those collections that we store up reveal a lot about what we have inside of us. It also displays what we lack amongst our spiritual treasures. What are you a storage device for? What is your treasure? What is inside of you? Your inventory of your possessions may reveal that they actually possess you. Christ warned us about the dangers of allegiance to wealth. In personifying the concept of riches as "mammon" he said:

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
-Matthew 6:24

Instead of being possessed by our possessions and we must rather be possessed by God. We must forsake our allegiance to fleeting wealth and become one of God's treasures. When we do this we will discover what the brother who asked for Jesus' help in an inheritance dispute did not understand. Our true treasure doesn't come from our earthly fathers but our Heavenly Father.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
-Matthew 6:19-21