Durable goods

Recently I bought a Timbuk2 Ace on clearance. (Apparently the model has been discontinued.) It has gotten me thinking again about durable goods.

Name What's in a name? I knew I wanted a Timbuk2 because they have a reputation for making durable (near indestructible) bags from the best material. While I agree that many people buy a brand to be seen in it (or with it, or whatever), the name does matter. Timbuk2 is better than many other brands - and will be proved through years of use. Most people in our culture can connect with the reliability of a good name; and it is exactly what we are doing when we proclaim Christ. We are announcing a name that is supremely reliable and trustworthy.


Durable When I buy something like a backpack, I want it to be of a quality that my kids will one day inherit it, and love it, because it was well-made and time-tested. I think it is poor stewardship (not to mention environmentally unsustainable) to buy something like this, knowing that I'll need to replace it in a few years. There is a right and proper satisfaction in a durable good, something that lasts. Yet this is precisely why we ought not to trust in durable goods. Though they may be good, they will fail; they will not endure. That is why Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Store up truly durable goods, treasures in heaven [glimpses of the Savior] that cannot be tarnished or taken. But don't buy junk on earth! That is poor stewardship, encourages shoddy work, and ignores the whole principle of choosing that which is better.