Hoarders

Originally Posted by Play The Man

... The day before she left, she stopped by our house and gave us a box of cookies (they were wrapped in cellophane and had a current expiration date ).

COOKIE PAYMENT!!

I'm about to turn in. I caught this thread cuz I was up waiting for a video to process so I could punch go on the DVD mastering. Earlier today, the woman who asked me to do this project offered me cookies as payment. Cookies are a universal currency!

G'Night.

[NateR]

There is really no clear teaching in Scripture about how tidy the inside of our houses should be; so I can only give my personal opinion.

The only thing I could find right offhand that seems even remotely related would be Leviticus 15, which deals exclusively with bodily discharges and the purification of everyday items that might come into contact with that discharge. Bodily discharges related to a disease required a sin offering and a burnt offering. Normal, healthy bodily discharges (semen from men in verses 16-18; normal menstruation for women in verses 19-24) simply required a washing with water and no offerings.

Hoarding seems to be a completely different issue from cleanliness, however. I do agree that it is closer to a mental illness, but that wouldn't necessarily disqualify it from the sin category. At worst it could be an extreme form of materialism, which would classify it as idolatry.

But I would also distinguish between a hoarder and a packrat. People who are packrats are usually conditioned into that lifestyle as a result of growing up in poverty. I know that some people who lived through the Great Depression learned how to be packrats as a matter of survival. My grandparents were like that and they passed it on to my parents, who passed it on to me. As a result, I have a very hard time throwing some things away, especially if I can conceive of some way that it might be useful in the future.

I also think that obsessive cleanliness might be just as much of a mental illness as hoarding. GOD created our immune system and it works really well, so a little dirt and some germs are not going to hurt anyone (who doesn't have some kind of immune system disorder).

i don't know if its a sin .. i doubt its a mental issue all the time either .. people are too clingy with their junk or just plain dirty .. over time things use their usefulness and you need to get rid of it ... some of these people are attached to them, others are just too lazy to get rid of it ... some of the people on the show collect say dolls to a point where they have so many all over the place ... that i can see they need help in stop buying the things .. others you can tell they have old food in the fridge, don't wash the dishes .. those people are just plain dirty

[adamt]

nate summed my view up pretty well,


but food for thought:

hoard/hôrd/Noun: A store of money or valued objects, typically one that is secret or carefully guarded.




Jesus gave a parable using talents, here is an excerpt:

Matthew 25:24Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered, ‘Evil and lazy slave.....

if it isn't a sin, which I don't think it is worth arguing about, it is definitely foolish

[adamt]

also, i believe the scriptures have a solution for everything we deem mental illness as well...... I don't think there is any place for pychiatrists in christianity, i understand the need for them that blatantly reject God and have no hope of rest or wit, then we as a society need to drug them to protect them from themselves and others, but as christians, we have other solutions to go to rather than drugs or secular conseling

[Tyburn]

Originally Posted by Mark

My wife is watching Hoarders. Is it a sin to live in a dirty house? What about a house that is not kept clean?

I would say its not very respectful of what GOD has given you if you let it fall into disrepair. If GOD has given you a place to call home, and you dont maintain it in good condition, it doesnt show your very grateful for what you've got.

[Tyburn]

Originally Posted by MattHughesRocks

Hoarders is a show about people with severe mental issues. That isn't a sin. As far as living in a house that's dirty...like normal dirty...hummmm...I guess it's a sin if it could make someone sick?

I'm pretty tidy and clean BTW

I LOVE your avatar!

My friend turns on "Hoarders" when his wife starts letting things slip. After watching the show, she always goes on a cleaning spree. Smart man.

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by County Mike

My friend turns on "Hoarders" when his wife starts letting things slip. After watching the show, she always goes on a cleaning spree. Smart man.

Sneaky!

[NateR]

Originally Posted by adamt

also, i believe the scriptures have a solution for everything we deem mental illness as well...... I don't think there is any place for pychiatrists in christianity, i understand the need for them that blatantly reject God and have no hope of rest or wit, then we as a society need to drug them to protect them from themselves and others, but as christians, we have other solutions to go to rather than drugs or secular conseling

I would definitely agree with that. As Christians, GOD gives us the Holy Spirit for all of our needs, so to completely ignore the resources that the Holy Spirit provides and rely solely on human wisdom (psychiatrists, therapists, counselors, doctors, lawyers, scientists, philosophers, politicians, etc.) to solve our problems would definitely be a sin for a believer.

I'm not saying it's a sin to use those resources when necessary, but we should never place an educated opinion of a person ahead of the clear teachings in Scripture.