One's Possessions

Tuesday morning, January 8, 2008

The following is an excerpt from what Jesus had to say about anxiety, worry, and priorities: “Do not be afraid little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also” (Luke 12:32-34). There is a portion of this that, shall I say, stands out, at least in my view, and it is this: Don’t be afraid; sell your possessions and give to charity. Of course, Jesus said this within the context of telling us that His Father had chosen gladly to give us the entire kingdom, which in my opinion ain’t too shabby; however, I still can’t persuade myself to sell all of my possessions, give the proceeds to the Salvation Army, and, then, to wait on the kingdom (whatever it is) not only to come, but also to materialize and cover my nakedness. I know He prefaced this with, “Do not be afraid” but, gosh, this scares me to death.

Let me tell you why it scares me: When Jesus tells us not to be afraid, He usually does so because He knows that we will have every reason to be afraid, and in this instance, I can think of many, not to mention those He knows, to which I am not privy. In other words, I have every reason to believe that my obedience to this passage would scare the life out of me (and probably you, as well), which is probably why I have not been obedient, and, I might add, my disobedience probably tells you much about where my heart is—or my treasure.

Yes, I feel sure that many of you are thinking that Jesus did not mean for us to take this literally, and you might be correct; however, if we have any desire to live beyond anxiety and worry, we would, probably, do well not only to take this text literally, but also to get our priorities in order. Yes, I also know that some of you just had this bright thought: “If I get my priorities in order, I will no longer need to sell all of my possessions and give the proceeds to the Salvation Army!” Unfortunately, if you had this thought, you also have the cart before the horse. I have the very strong feeling that there is a indirect relationship between my owning possessions and my priorities being in order—the more possessions I believe I own, the less orderly are my priorities. In other words, ownership requires caretaking and caretaking requires time and, therefore, caretaking become priority—almost always! Yes, it has its subtle way of operating, but it is very effective!

Have you ever considered the lilies of the field—how they grow? Have you noticed that anxiety does not increase one’s life-span by even a minute; if anything, it decreases it by years? Have you noticed that even when one has an abundance of possessions, his life does not consist of his possessions? Have you considered the ravens and how they survive? Do you know how much more valuable you are than a raven, especially to God?

Then of course, there are those who are quick to say, “I do not own any possessions, therefore, I am in good shape!” If you are one of these, you might do well to remember this: PRIDE COMMETH BEFORE THE FALL.

I fully expect to see the coffers of the Salvation Army overflowing with the proceeds from the sale of our possessions! Yea, right! We much prefer to be anxious and to worry and, I might add, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting of it!