Possessed?

"I was a dismal mess, along with every other soul who is chained to the things of this life. When we lose the things we're all torn to pieces; then we realize we were miserable even while we had them." St. Augustine (The Confessions, book four)

I've been reading The Confessions for a while now (thankful that it's the type of book one can set down and come back to) it is both shameful and encouraging to read how similar I am to Augustine in my shortcomings. (I am nothing near to the "Saint" others claim he is.)

"Chained to the things of this world" that makes me think of a spiritual formation class I took - we talked about how one of the church "fathers and mothers" practiced simplicity as a spiritual discipline. Well, what's so spiritual about simplicity? I got an image, inadequately drawn on the back of some old test, of how each earthly thing traps us in this kingdom. Maybe that's why it's harder for the rich to get into the Kingdom of God than a camel through the eye of a needle - the rich have little threads (or are they chains) attached to each thing they have. You just can't drag all those things into the kingdom of God.

Possess the things of the old life and the world of sin and that is the kingdom which possesses you.