Possessions: Live Unattached

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’” The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. When Jesus saw this,[b] he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.” “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.” [Luke 18.18-30]

Here is a good mind-bender. If one is to sell all their possessions and give the money to the poor, how, if they receive back from God many times over, can they have truly given up everything? I mean, afterwards they possess more than they started with!

There is an important principle here!

Most of us breeze right past this New Testament event. The reason we breeze right past it is obvious and simple: it requires more of us than we are willing to give. Our justification (however false it may be) is that we have it all under control in the "possessions" realm and this story really doesn't apply to us.

Ouch!

The principle here is the life "unattached" when it comes to possessions. The moral of the story is not that God doesn't want us to have possessions, but rather, that He absolutely does not want possessions to have us! The litmus test is simple: it is found in our treatment of the poor. Period.

Father, I want to get it right concerning possessions. I want to be Your steward and ambassador with the things I have. I have much to learn!