Hoarding and Sin

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

I feel the need to share this experience I've been having and that this was the best place to share it first and give it a test run.

Since July, I've been dealing with the family estate that belonged to my mother and her husband. Other than being a trustee for a trust the situation of cleaning out a house full of the possessions of two lifetimes is much the same as any other estate. My step-sister is the other trustee and we decided to run the estate sales on our own.

Of course, rummaging through the family's belongings that accumulated since at least the 1970s was an emotional experience and one that shed light on many things over the years, things that began to make me question the results of these two lifetimes.

My mother did very well and her last husband came into the relationship with just a suitcase, so I imagine that was the main reason the trust was created. The trust allowed them to live comfortably in their later years and enabled their hoarding of possessions to progress into a serious problem, esp. after Mom died and her husband had nothing better to do than collect things.

They had similar interests and tastes in antiques and Native American culture and they both had the hoarding trait that had them collecting things and then storing most of it where ever they could. It was total mental illness by the time Dad passed away and an unbelievable task that they have drawn me into from beyond the grave.

I had a few emotional break downs while working the estate and began to come to grips with the spiritual side of all this. This came to a head recently when I finally cleaned out the attic where the Christmas stuff was stored. "Here's your Merry Christmas in hell" was basically what I was saying while I tossed the shit down the folding attic stairs on to the floor below.

Once I calmed down, I began to think about a few Bible verses that applied to the situation. Now that I'm back at home for awhile, I did some research and have come to the conclusion that there is no place in heaven for hoarders. So that only leaves one other place in the afterlife.

Below is my research for you to decide where hoarders end up.

Hoarding and Sin

The most frightening and damning verses are from James who makes it pretty clear what will happen to hoarders once they pass away.

James 5:1-5 King James Bible

(1) Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. (5) Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

In the hereafter, hoarders will weep and wail in misery, fire will eat their flesh, they will be slaughtered, and they will have done it all to themselves during their lives.

1 Corinthians condemns the greedy behavior inherent in hoarding by grouping it with other serious sins (as covetousness) resulting in not making it into heaven, which will only leave you one other place in the afterlife.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 King James Bible

(9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Here Matthew simplifies James's words, elaborates a little, and gives the reader the way back to the Lord.

Matthew 6:19-21 King James Bible

(19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21) "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:24-25 King James Bible

(24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Matthew relates this story about the Lord to illustrate his teachings on hoarding treasure.

Matthew 19:21-25 King James Version
(21)  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (22)  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (23)  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. (24)  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (25)  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Luke's warning and parable also illustrate the sinfullness of hoarding. The first and last quotes from Luke presented here are enough without the parable in between.

Luke 12:15-21 King James Bible

(15) And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (16) And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

More warnings from Luke on true riches versus Mammon followed up with John who sums it all up with one sentence.

Luke 16:10-12 King James Bible

(10) He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. (11) If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (12) And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

1 John 2:15 King James Bible

(15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Timothy's warnings and advice about turning away from acquiring riches.

1 Timothy 6:8-11King James Bible

(8) And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. (9) But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (11) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

To sum it up, hoarding to the degree which I found it is related to the sins of coveting, greed, idolatry, along with a couple of others. Then to add to it, there was this obsession with primitive Native cultures and my Mother's choice of the Mormon religion at the end. Not good if you know and study the Bible and have real faith.

[SomeJackleg]

I feel the need to share this experience I've been having and that this was the best place to share it first and give it a test run.

Since July, I've been dealing with the family estate that belonged to my mother and her husband. Other than being a trustee for a trust the situation of cleaning out a house full of the possessions of two lifetimes is much the same as any other estate. My step-sister is the other trustee and we decided to run the estate sales on our own.

Of course, rummaging through the family's belongings that accumulated since at least the 1970s was an emotional experience and one that shed light on many things over the years, things that began to make me question the results of these two lifetimes.

My mother did very well and her last husband came into the relationship with just a suitcase, so I imagine that was the main reason the trust was created. The trust allowed them to live comfortably in their later years and enabled their hoarding of possessions to progress into a serious problem, esp. after Mom died and her husband had nothing better to do than collect things.

They had similar interests and tastes in antiques and Native American culture and they both had the hoarding trait that had them collecting things and then storing most of it where ever they could. It was total mental illness by the time Dad passed away and an unbelievable task that they have drawn me into from beyond the grave.

I had a few emotional break downs while working the estate and began to come to grips with the spiritual side of all this. This came to a head recently when I finally cleaned out the attic where the Christmas stuff was stored. "Here's your Merry Christmas in hell" was basically what I was saying while I tossed the shit down the folding attic stairs on to the floor below.

Once I calmed down, I began to think about a few Bible verses that applied to the situation. Now that I'm back at home for awhile, I did some research and have come to the conclusion that there is no place in heaven for hoarders. So that only leaves one other place in the afterlife.

Below is my research for you to decide where hoarders end up.

Hoarding and Sin

The most frightening and damning verses are from James who makes it pretty clear what will happen to hoarders once they pass away.

James 5:1-5 King James Bible

(1) Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. (5) Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

In the hereafter, hoarders will weep and wail in misery, fire will eat their flesh, they will be slaughtered, and they will have done it all to themselves during their lives.

1 Corinthians condemns the greedy behavior inherent in hoarding by grouping it with other serious sins (as covetousness) resulting in not making it into heaven, which will only leave you one other place in the afterlife.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 King James Bible

(9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Here Matthew simplifies James's words, elaborates a little, and gives the reader the way back to the Lord.

Matthew 6:19-21 King James Bible

(19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21) "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:24-25 King James Bible

(24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Matthew relates this story about the Lord to illustrate his teachings on hoarding treasure.

Matthew 19:21-25 King James Version
(21)  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (22)  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (23)  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. (24)  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (25)  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Luke's warning and parable also illustrate the sinfullness of hoarding. The first and last quotes from Luke presented here are enough without the parable in between.

Luke 12:15-21 King James Bible

(15) And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (16) And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

More warnings from Luke on true riches versus Mammon followed up with John who sums it all up with one sentence.

Luke 16:10-12 King James Bible

(10) He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. (11) If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (12) And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

1 John 2:15 King James Bible

(15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Timothy's warnings and advice about turning away from acquiring riches.

1 Timothy 6:8-11King James Bible

(8) And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. (9) But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (11) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

To sum it up, hoarding to the degree which I found it is related to the sins of coveting, greed, idolatry, along with a couple of others. Then to add to it, there was this obsession with primitive Native cultures and my Mother's choice of the Mormon religion at the end. Not good if you know and study the Bible and have real faith.

to be honest, i don't think that the the passages in the bible are about the typical hoarder of today or of that time then.
it was about the lust of wealth above all other things. 
sure somethings maybe valuable that the some typical hoarders buy, but imo it's more about maybe they think they'll need it some day or that it's valuable.

others that maybe well off imo. just don't know what to do with their money or their self's so they fill it with things.

and to be even more honest, we have closest and our shed/ sheds are filled with things that i know haven't seen the light of day for 30 years. 
i also know that for me part of it is that when i do decide to clean out stuff and pick stuff it up, i think you know i may need that again one day or i hate that i wasted my money on it only to throw it away and it probably wouldn't be worth anything to anybody else.

it's more like a mental illness, than a willful sin.

[FlickerOfLight]

I feel the need to share this experience I've been having and that this was the best place to share it first and give it a test run.

Since July, I've been dealing with the family estate that belonged to my mother and her husband. Other than being a trustee for a trust the situation of cleaning out a house full of the possessions of two lifetimes is much the same as any other estate. My step-sister is the other trustee and we decided to run the estate sales on our own.

Of course, rummaging through the family's belongings that accumulated since at least the 1970s was an emotional experience and one that shed light on many things over the years, things that began to make me question the results of these two lifetimes.

My mother did very well and her last husband came into the relationship with just a suitcase, so I imagine that was the main reason the trust was created. The trust allowed them to live comfortably in their later years and enabled their hoarding of possessions to progress into a serious problem, esp. after Mom died and her husband had nothing better to do than collect things.

They had similar interests and tastes in antiques and Native American culture and they both had the hoarding trait that had them collecting things and then storing most of it where ever they could. It was total mental illness by the time Dad passed away and an unbelievable task that they have drawn me into from beyond the grave.

I had a few emotional break downs while working the estate and began to come to grips with the spiritual side of all this. This came to a head recently when I finally cleaned out the attic where the Christmas stuff was stored. "Here's your Merry Christmas in hell" was basically what I was saying while I tossed the shit down the folding attic stairs on to the floor below.

Once I calmed down, I began to think about a few Bible verses that applied to the situation. Now that I'm back at home for awhile, I did some research and have come to the conclusion that there is no place in heaven for hoarders. So that only leaves one other place in the afterlife.

Below is my research for you to decide where hoarders end up.

Hoarding and Sin

The most frightening and damning verses are from James who makes it pretty clear what will happen to hoarders once they pass away.

James 5:1-5 King James Bible

(1) Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. (5) Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

In the hereafter, hoarders will weep and wail in misery, fire will eat their flesh, they will be slaughtered, and they will have done it all to themselves during their lives.

1 Corinthians condemns the greedy behavior inherent in hoarding by grouping it with other serious sins (as covetousness) resulting in not making it into heaven, which will only leave you one other place in the afterlife.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 King James Bible

(9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Here Matthew simplifies James's words, elaborates a little, and gives the reader the way back to the Lord.

Matthew 6:19-21 King James Bible

(19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21) "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:24-25 King James Bible

(24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Matthew relates this story about the Lord to illustrate his teachings on hoarding treasure.

Matthew 19:21-25 King James Version
(21)  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (22)  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (23)  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. (24)  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (25)  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Luke's warning and parable also illustrate the sinfullness of hoarding. The first and last quotes from Luke presented here are enough without the parable in between.

Luke 12:15-21 King James Bible

(15) And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (16) And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

More warnings from Luke on true riches versus Mammon followed up with John who sums it all up with one sentence.

Luke 16:10-12 King James Bible

(10) He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. (11) If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (12) And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

1 John 2:15 King James Bible

(15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Timothy's warnings and advice about turning away from acquiring riches.

1 Timothy 6:8-11King James Bible

(8) And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. (9) But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (11) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

To sum it up, hoarding to the degree which I found it is related to the sins of coveting, greed, idolatry, along with a couple of others. Then to add to it, there was this obsession with primitive Native cultures and my Mother's choice of the Mormon religion at the end. Not good if you know and study the Bible and have real faith.

This is wild.
Another crazy synchronization for me.

I was just cleaning up behind someone (who is beyond messy,  and "hoards"), and a very similar thought went through my mind.

I have a lot I'd like to add to this thought, but you've nailed it.

Definitely makes you wonder.

The "kingdom of heaven" isn't "dirty, or messy, or unclean." 

All this stuff we "collect" as if it adds so much value to our lives, literally ends up as garbage to rot.

How does that really enhance anything? It's like worshiping garbage, imo.

I don't know about people's souls and if it prevents anyone from inheriting eternal life or not. But, I don't see the Holy Spirit hoarding, and living in filth. Either physically or spiritually speaking. 

So, I get it. This is a heavy load on the mind.

---

Edit: I redacted my statements afterwards due to thread and thought drift.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

I had always thought hoarding was a learned behavior related to the Depression-era economy and then WWII rationing. After that there was the 70s recession, and what have you, to keep such habits alive to recent times.

Ultimately I looked up hoarding as a mental disorder and the symptoms are identical to most of my stepdad's traits and to a lesser degree my mother's. Here are a couple of links.

www.psychiatry.org

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hoarding as a mental disorder has only been acknowledged in the past decade or so. Personally, I believe that mental disorders are basically clinical terminology for what may be a spiritual disorder as well. It's also a hard pill to swallow if you think you too may be headed down this road. I think this is a message for many of us to take heed of. Collectors and resale businesses should be careful as they walk a fine line in my opinion.

ETA: I can't forget my part in this while I watch people salivate as they buy up this crap and I count the money made for the trust. I learned several retail tricks and other things to get this garbage out the door while making a buck without using a dumpster or fire insurance.

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

I feel like if I wanted to liken hoarding to a sin my pick would be sloth, but I'm no expert. It just seems like hoarders accumulate all of these things with all of these ideas and plans but then are too lazy to implement them. Much easier to accumulate things and let them take over space than to actually do something with them or even organize them and stow them away neatly. 

I have to watch myself as I tend to hoard crafting and gardening supplies because I know that eventually I will have time and a use for them- and I absolutely do- but sometimes it will be a while before I get around to a particular project and if I'm not careful I find areas being overtaken by materials for future projects. Limited space makes it a bigger problem than it should be but I try my darnedest to keep it under control.

[Infolurker]

I guess I am kind of a hoarder... of useful things.

I have been mylar'ing up buckets of food off and on for 15 years. The buckets are stacking up. I hoard other food as well and useful "tools".

I am not sure if disaster preparation is specifically classified as hoarding unless you are clearing the grocery store during a crisis. I have been storing food over time so I don't have to do that.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

Based on what I saw during the clean-up, insecurity is one factor. If you have dozens of the same products everywhere, you will always have them. The thing is that he would put his things in a plastic bag, like a Ziplock baggy, many times along with a note. Then the bag would be placed in a box that would be stored in a closet or the shed or basement, never to be seen again until I came along to clean it up. It was a mental disorder by this point, but devastating spiritually as well.

They had a strange reverence or respect for these objects and possessions as they stored them away, never to be used or enjoyed by anyone again. Not only is this selfishness and greed, but it is also a form of idolatry, placing the creation above everything else including the creator. It seemed they were trying to fill a spiritual void, evidenced by the number of religious items and Bibles they hoarded. However, the pagan Native books and artifacts far outnumbered anything Christian. They worshiped antiques and Native artifacts. They had some strange and questionable things in their collections like human remains from a native burial. It controlled their lives and ultimately contributed to their deaths and may have landed them in Hell now that they both passed away.

---

I guess I am kind of a hoarder... of useful things.

I have been mylar'ing up buckets of food off and on for 15 years. The buckets are stacking up. I hoard other food as well and useful "tools".

I am not sure if disaster preparation is specifically classified as hoarding unless you are clearing the grocery store during a crisis. I have been storing food over time so I don't have to do that.

Prepping, collecting, and resale businesses like junkyards aren't hoarding. But if you never use your preps or display your collections or sell your junk, you may be a hoarder.

---

They kept everything, esp. paperwork. That was very helpful in understanding their choices in life and how it got them to the point it did. It was painfully obvious knowing what I knew before the rest of the pieces fell into place, but selfish and greedy intentions motivated my mother. She did well financially as her investment portfolio showed, but eventually, it all got pissed away on weird stuff and garbage by my stepdad after she passed away. He left all kinds of medical bills he refused to pay and was very greedy and selfish in the end. He didn't take proper care of the property or his own health and safety, acquiring more stuff, esp. free stuff, was mostly all he did. Most times he went anywhere it was to get more things.

---

I feel like if I wanted to liken hoarding to a sin my pick would be sloth, but I'm no expert. It just seems like hoarders accumulate all of these things with all of these ideas and plans but then are too lazy to implement them. Much easier to accumulate things and let them take over space than to actually do something with them or even organize them and stow them away neatly. 

I have to watch myself as I tend to hoard crafting and gardening supplies because I know that eventually I will have time and a use for them- and I absolutely do- but sometimes it will be a while before I get around to a particular project and if I'm not careful I find areas being overtaken by materials for future projects. Limited space makes it a bigger problem than it should be but I try my darnedest to keep it under control.

My uncle was like that, collected a bunch of junk with grand plans about what he would do with it. He did do some projects with his junk, but that caused the city to condemn his house so it was torn down and hauled to the dump. More family history pissed away because of hoarding.

There are people who make art from "found objects" and people who "repurpose" used items, but they aren't hoarding unless they hide their creations away from everyone else and refuse to part with them.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

Here is a scene from the movie "Labyrinth" with David Bowie known as "Sarah and the Junk Lady" . . .


www.youtube.com

This scene starts with Sarah wandering around a junkyard when she steps on the Junk Lady's back. She looks around to see that the junk is on top of the backs of old people slowly moving around her. She can't remember what she was looking for so the Junk Lady leads her into a pile of junk that becomes her bedroom back home. While in the room the Junk Lady begins to pile all of Sarah's belongings upon her back like everyone else in the junk pile. Once she remembers what her mission is, to save her baby brother, she breaks out of the junk world by rejecting all her things.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

I'm thankful for all the posts here. I was looking for reactions, trying to see how offended people may become if I suggest hoarding is a ticket to hell.

I'm completely burned out and to quote Austin Powers, "And I'm spent". However, my task today is to clean out my storage area to make room for guess what? Crap I'm adding to my pile!

I had a dumpster brought in before, a small one, I should get a bigger one. I have a pick-up and could go to the dump, but I'm so sick and tired of these never-ending cleanup projects. But I'm more aware than ever of this spiritual trap and must refuse to serve two masters.

I should consider giving away things to charity or people I know personally who may need things, but that may be like sharing cursed objects or spreading STDs. With all the hard dirty work and frustration, the idea that these things are actually cursed had me consider the cleansing purity of a huge bonfire. Send it back to the elements where it came from before it adds more misery to anyone else's life both now and the hereafter.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

Here is a good one to think about. It isn't Biblical, but it is classic literature. Below you will find a quote from Dickens along with some notes to give context.

The narrator describes Marley’s ghost’s appearance as he visits Scrooge. Marley looks like he did in life except that he now appears transparent and wears a chain of items related to his business. Scrooge will learn that the chain serves as Marley’s punishment. As those things were his only concern in life, Marley must carry them now and forever. Further, Scrooge learns that he himself has already forged a similar chain—but for seven years longer. Marley’s appearance warns Scrooge of his potential fate.

“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?”

Marley explains the justice in his everlasting punishment. The choices he made in life, to value money and business over others’ welfare, created the fetters he wears now. He acts surprised that Scrooge does not recognize what makes up his chain. As Marley knows, Scrooge’s currently invisible chain consists of the same items, because the two men made the same choices and focused on the same things in their lives.

www.sparknotes.com

[ancientlight]

I don't think the bible means the hoarding you're talking about.  The bible , I think, refers to those who are opulant wealthy, flaunt it, while ignoring the misery of others. 
Hoarding is a mental disease, issues that were never dealt with.

In my case I hoard food. I had a ,rather severe, eating disorder for years in which I would binge/purge several times per day (yes throwing up), and restricted my food intake. I would fast for weeks, and off course became even more food obsessed.
That food obsession never left.  So my pantry is overflowing and I will just buy more food even though it's filled to the brim.
I like to just collect the food really. It's mostly about that 'the food is there'.  
I will eat it, after it expires, but not before.

My poor son, is copying some traits unfortuantely. I'm a single mom, and have a small support network. 
I would love to stop doing this, for my sons' sake. Have a healthier mental state towards food.

I thought about using some app (on my laptop preferably) , that would collect receipes that I enter, and in which you can enter the ingredients, and then there's a way to single out all ingredients into a list from all the receipes,  so that there's no double ingredients?  If this exists , it could help. I could try to just buy all ingredients, which would I'm sure , amount to much less.

I have no idea which app would be good for this though . I've looked , but could not find it.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

If no one wants to look at the links to Hoarding Disorder as a mental illness I provide above, I'll list the symptoms here.

Diagnosing Hoarding Disorder
Specific symptoms for a hoarding diagnosis include (American Psychiatric Association, 2013):

• Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.
  
• This difficulty is due to a perceived need to save the items and to the distress associated with discarding them.
  
• The difficulty discarding possessions results in the accumulation of possessions that congest and clutter active living areas and substantially compromises their intended use. If living areas are uncluttered, it is only because of the interventions of third parties (e.g., family members, cleaners, or the authorities).”
  

The hoarding causes major distress or problems in social, work or other important areas of functions (including maintaining a safe environment for self and others).
An assessment for hoarding may include questions such as:

• Do you have trouble parting with possessions (such as discarding, recycling, selling or giving away)?
  
• Because of the clutter or number of possessions, how difficult is it to use the rooms and surfaces in your home?
  
• To what extent does your hoarding, saving, acquisition and clutter affect your daily functioning?
  
• How much do these symptoms interfere with school, work or your social or family life?
  
• How much distress do these symptoms cause you?
  

The NIH adds the following from that link.

Specify if:

• With excessive acquisition: If difficulty discarding possessions is accompanied by excessive acquisition of items that are not needed or for which there is no available space. (Approximately 80 to 90 percent of individuals with hoarding disorder display this trait.)
  

Specify if:

• With good or fair insight: The individual recognizes that hoarding-related beliefs and behaviors (pertaining to difficulty discarding items, clutter, or excessive acquisition) are problematic.
  
• With poor insight: The individual is mostly convinced that hoarding-related beliefs and behaviors (pertaining to difficulty discarding items, clutter, or excessive acquisition) are not problematic despite evidence to the contrary.
  
• With absent insight/delusional beliefs: The individual is completely convinced that hoarding-related beliefs and behaviors (pertaining to difficulty discarding items, clutter, or excessive acquisition) are not problematic despite evidence to the contrary.
  

[FlickerOfLight]

I'm thankful for all the posts here. I was looking for reactions, trying to see how offended people may become if I suggest hoarding is a ticket to hell.

I'm completely burned out and to quote Austin Powers, "And I'm spent". However, my task today is to clean out my storage area to make room for guess what? Crap I'm adding to my pile!

I had a dumpster brought in before, a small one, I should get a bigger one. I have a pick-up and could go to the dump, but I'm so sick and tired of these never-ending cleanup projects. But I'm more aware than ever of this spiritual trap and must refuse to serve two masters.

I should consider giving away things to charity or people I know personally who may need things, but that may be like sharing cursed objects or spreading STDs. With all the hard dirty work and frustration, the idea that these things are actually cursed had me consider the cleansing purity of a huge bonfire. Send it back to the elements where it came from before it adds more misery to anyone else's life both now and the hereafter.

I recently went through this battle of questions. 

I came to remembering two things.
We are all sinners.
Jesus is merciful.

And I would do the same. Have you a nice big bonfire one night. Or give what you can (or what is worth giving) to the needy, somehow, if possible. Burn what's left over.

Cheers