(Almost) Everything Depreciates

Cars age, clothes fade, and the new wears off. Consider where we place our attention and what gives life lasting richness.

#MindsetMonday • 9:00 a.m. Oct. 12, 2026

I was looking at my truck the other day. It’s got some miles on it now. A few dents. Some scratches. Most days, it could use a wash. It certainly doesn’t look like it did the day I drove it off the lot.

That got me thinking about how much of life works the same way. That truck started depreciating the minute I bought it. So did most of the things I’ve spent money acquiring over the years. Cars get old. Clothes fade. Phones and laptops become obsolete. Furniture gets scratched. Watches get worn, and no matter how hard we fight it, our bodies accumulate a few miles, too.

We humans spend an awful lot of our lives chasing things that begin losing their shine almost as soon as we get them. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with having nice things. I like nice things. However, there’s an important distinction between enjoying what God has allowed us to steward and expecting those things to provide something they were never capable of providing. Eventually, the new wears off.

That next purchase won’t satisfy you forever. That bigger house won’t make you whole. Another zero in the bank account won’t fix what’s broken inside you. Here’s something I really want you to ponder: Eventually, someone else will own everything you spent your lifetime accumulating. That’s a hard truth to grasp: You can spend your entire life building a collection of things that you just can’t take with you.

Notice the title: “almost” everything depreciates.

God doesn’t.

His Word doesn’t become outdated. His truth doesn’t change with the times. His grace isn’t diminished by how much of it you needed yesterday. His mercy doesn’t show up today with dents and scratches, and the Holy Spirit isn’t a resource that gets drawn down the more we depend on Him.

Scripture tells us, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23, NIV).

Think about that. New. Every. Morning. That was written in a time of great despair and devastation.

The truck is getting older. So am I. There are a few more dents on both of us, and neither one of us is going back to showroom condition. Here’s the beautiful part: The outside can be getting older while God is making the inside newer. I’m learning to stop determining the richness of my life by counting things that depreciate. I’m finally learning that the greatest treasure in my life isn’t something God gave me – it’s God himself.

So This Week: Take inventory. Not of what you own, but of what owns your attention. Enjoy the truck. Enjoy the house. Enjoy the things God has entrusted to you. Take care of them. Be grateful for them. But don’t ask temporary things to do eternal work.