Luk 12:15 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.
This has been something that has been on my mind for quite a while, especially in light of an even more difficult Bible verse:
Luk 12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
In other words, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything he owned and to give to the poor in order to have treasure in Heaven. (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22) Many would say, "OK, but Jesus just told the rich young man this." Nope. Jesus also told this to His disciples, as shown above. And did not Jesus tell His disciples to teach other disciples to obey all His commands? (Matthew 28:20)
Now, I have to admit, this puzzles me. Does this mean we are to literally and physically own nothing? Mind you, that's not a bad thing, but are we sinning if at any point in our Christian walk, we, in the eyes of the common world, own something? I come to this verse for some insight:
1Co 7:30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
Paul doesn't imply a man is sinning if he has bought something. He only requires that you don't consider it your own, just like the early church:
Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
In fact, nothing is truly our own, as David says:
Psa 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
You see, the forfeiture of worldly possessions, in and of itself, is not the head-scratcher for me. For Jesus makes it very clear (to me at least):
Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
The head-scratcher for me is the LOGISTICS of it all. When Jesus told the rich young man, and Jesus' disciples, to sell their possessions and give to the poor, the command was clear: Exactly, and literally, put up all your stuff for sale, and exactly, and literally, give the money to the poor. If you simply give the items away at no price, you did not do exactly what was commanded. If you sold all the items for money and gave the money to the rich, you did not do exactly what was commanded. If you sold all the items for money and spent it on yourself (or kept back part of the money for yourself, as in Acts 5:1-11), you did not do exactly what was commanded.
So what's the problem? Why not just follow Jesus' commands to the letter, every time? There are a few examples in Scripture where righteous men were commended for forsaking their worldly possessions, yet did not follow the exact procedure Jesus gave the rich young man and the disciples. This is where we all need to pray for wisdom (James 1:5). Anyway, the examples:
1. Zacchaeus
Luke 19:2-10 (KJV) And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Zacchaeus didn't exactly sell his goods and give the money to the poor. He simply gave half of his goods to the poor, and gave a quadruple refund to his victims of fraud. Jesus called him SAVED.
2. Lawsuit Defendants and Victims of Theft
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Luk 6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
These are also commands of Jesus. If you are sued for something, or if someone takes something from you, allow them to have more. Jesus never mentioned asking for money for it. These are "turn the other cheek" moments.
3. Victims of Confiscation/Raids/Spoilings/Civil Asset Forfeiture, Etc.
Heb 10:34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
Again, no mention of a "sale" is present in this text.
4. Mary Magdalene (forgot about her)
John 12:1-8 (KJV) Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. 7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
Mary reserved the ointment for the purpose of anointing Jesus. Jesus commended this, and ordained that this account be included in the Gospel (Matthew 26:13, Mark 14:9)
So, at the very least, if there are worldly possessions in our hands that is not being or has not been stolen, surrendered, etc., it is eligible to be literally sold and given to the poor. At the very least, start with the unneeded and unused goods so that aid to the poor (keep it a secret, says Jesus in Matthew 6:1-4) will start to flow. Then, pray about the rest, hoping that you will need less and less over time. Remember, all this in the name of obeying Christ. A hint: Your car, your house, your cell phone, your laptops and computers, your TVs, your tools, ALL OF THAT is eligible to be sold and the proceeds given to the poor. I haven't gone that far, but Lord willing, in time, I will. This is why I don't say to you "YOU MUST DO THIS!", but rather, to seriously consider it. Don't take my word for it. Read the Bible and obey what it says.
And speaking of a house, one final thing to consider: George Carlin has a comedy routine called "A Place For My Stuff" in which he says: "If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house! You could just walk around all the time."
Even for sleeping, the Christian must consider the possibility of having no central place to sleep, no house, no apartment at all. Yes, I mean HOMELESSNESS. Again, hear Christ's words:
Luk 12:15 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.
Mat 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
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