第一次出國旅遊的人通常都會在行李箱裡裝很多東西，他們總覺得出門在外，要備齊各樣物品才會安心。但最近有篇文章談到了攜帶太多東西的問題。作者建議我們旅行時，不必帶洗髮精和吹風機，因為多數旅館都會提供；也不必多帶鞋子和書籍，因為這些東西又大又重。作者寫道，當你拖著沉重的行李，走在歐洲的鵝卵石街道上的時候，就會希望自己沒帶那麼多東西！

這也可以用來比喻我們人生的旅程，使徒保羅提供了明智的建議：「我們沒有帶什麼到世上來，也不能帶什麼去」（提摩太前書6章7節）。保羅指出人們想擁有很多東西，他說「那些想要發財的人，就落在試探中」，並提醒我們額外的東西就是「陷阱」，會「使人沉淪在敗壞和滅亡中」（9節，新譯本）。基督徒的人生旅程有不同目標，而我們所需的一切都由上帝供應，祂會「厚賜百物給我們享受」（17節）。

今天，我們應提醒自己：我們在世上所積存的一切都是暫時的，終究都帶不走。保羅鼓勵我們，要「甘心施捨，樂意供給人，為自己積成美好的根基，預備將來」。這是最佳的旅行建議，也是得著「真正生命」的秘訣（19節）。

It’s common for those who are traveling overseas for the first time to pack a lot of stuff. The fear is being so far from home and needing something. But a recent article speaks of the problems of overpacking. It advises leaving behind shampoo and hair dryers (which most hotels have) and not bringing extra shoes and books, which are bulky and heavy. The writer notes that when you wind up lugging heavy luggage over Europe’s cobblestone streets, you’ll wish you didn’t bring so much with you. 

In a way, it’s an apt metaphor for the travel advice the apostle Paul provides: “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:7). He ties this to the problem of possessing too much: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation,” and he warns that extra baggage is “a trap” leading to “ruin and destruction” (v. 9). People of faith have a different travel destination where all that’s needed is provided by God—“everything for our enjoyment” (v. 17).

It might be good for us today to remember that what we accumulate in life is meaningless. We can’t take it with us. By being “generous and willing to share” (v. 18), Paul says we “lay up treasure . . . for the coming age.” This is the best travel tip of all, the secret to “life that is truly life” (v. 19).