"Stuff-itis"

I've been struggling this week with reading devotions in the morning... Adjusting to a new, non-school schedule has been difficult. But this morning I read this passage from Matthew 6:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Or as the NLT ends it: "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

I'll admit it. I can be materialistic. At least in my head. I don't often act on it (I was raised with a better understanding of money than that), but I keep my wish lists, and I'll spend time looking at ebay for the best priced cover for the Kindle I don't own.

I know the good Christian answer is to just be thankful for the things I do have. I'm reminded of the Veggie Tales movie about Madame Blueberry - she is a very sad berry because nothing that she has is good enough. She goes to "Stuffmart", where she buys everything thinking it will make her happy. She of course learns along the way that things don't make you truly happy. She encounters a couple of little kids and learns to be thankful for what she has.

I've heard that if there's something you want but don't necessarily need, to wait a couple weeks, or a month or two, and then re-evaluate whether it's still a good idea or not. I really do follow that process. But after those couple of months, I find myself thinking about the object again, wondering how beneficial it would be, is it really worth spending that much money on, but I really do want it...

Maybe if I look at each item on my "wishlist" through the eyes of the verse above... Why do I want the item? Is it just "stuff" that will eventually break and be thrown away and forgotten, or will it somehow help me store up treasures in heaven? Whatever that may look like...

How do you handle "stuff-itis" in your life?