What does the Bible say about compulsive hoarding?

Question: "What does the Bible say about compulsive hoarding?"

Answer: Most people exhibit a certain degree of what might be called “hoarding.” The desire to hold on to one’s possessions is natural. Collectors might save anything from stamps to swords to salt-and-pepper shakers. Self-described “packrats” or “chronic savers” hate to throw things out that they (and sometimes only they) think may be useful to them. But the obsessive-compulsive hoarder takes things to an unhealthy extreme. Unlike the collector, the compulsive hoarder does not display his “collection.” Unlike items saved by the “packrat,” the compulsive hoarder’s items have no use whatsoever and can actually become a danger to the hoarder. Examples of such severe hoarding can be seen on TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive.

Compulsive hoarding is a behavioral disorder characterized by the abnormal retention of many items of little or no value. The resulting clutter restricts the normal use of the hoarder’s living quarters and results in noticeable impairment and/or distress to the hoarder. Compulsive hoarding is usually treated in a manner similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); treatment is made more difficult, however, in that the compulsive hoarder rarely admits he has a problem or seeks help.

Researchers believe that compulsive hoarders feel an emotional attachment to the stuff they hoard. Many times the hoarder seems to be trying to fill an emotional or spiritual need by surrounding himself with physical objects. This might explain why many hoarders are older people who have lost loved ones.

Compulsive hoarders also lack the ability to determine comparative value. Most people have the ability to categorize objects as “valuable” or “worthless.” The compulsive hoarder finds it very difficult to make such judgments and, to avoid the stress of having to evaluate a thing’s worth, opts to just keep it.

The Bible does not address compulsive hoarding, per se, but it does say something about earthy treasure versus the heavenly. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . . But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous German theologian, once said, “Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. Hoarding is idolatry.”

Believers should understand that nothing in this world can meet our spiritual needs. No object, no collection can fill the spiritual vacuum in our hearts. Our sufficiency is in Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9). “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).

We should be content with what God has given us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:31-33). That’s His promise to us. And it’s a promise we can bank on.

Recommended Resource: Blame It On the Brain? by Edward Welch.