We know Jesus's famous command: Sell all that you have and follow me. It makes the rich man in Luke 18:22-23 very sad because he has a lot of things.
And we don't tend to follow Christ's command either (I like my registry fine china, thank you very much). But why not? Does it sound too radical? Maybe we are unsure we can survive like that. Maybe we don't totally trust in God's care for us.
Whatever our reasons for following and not following our different vocations, I'd like to take a look at a secular movement that maybe could inspire us.
The New York Times recently profiled a young married couple who gave up their two-bedroom apartment for a studio, sold all their things until they lived with nothing but 100 personal items (including clothes, bedding, etc) each, and got out of debt and got a lot happier.
Read their story
here. Basically, we can actually be happier with less things as long as we have the right attitude. Indeed, it's the attitude that only ever mattered, not the things. One thing the articles points out is that having all kinds of nice junk in our house isn't what makes us happy. Spending money on experiences (such as a vacation or a concert) is more meaningful than accumulating stilettos, HD TVs and coordinated furniture. Life is about cultivating relationships, loving (God), and experiencing meaningful things together.
All of this kind of reminds me of the contemplative life. A
blog I subscribe to summarized a book on the contemplative life of prayer by Walter Burghardt. One of the peices of advice Burghardt gives is:
Fourth, learn to let go, to not posses, to let experiences and things be ephemeral. Most of us are conditioned when we see something beautiful–a sunset, a flower, a cute puppy, or our own children–to take a picture. The contemplative life savors the moment but lets it pass.Lets it pass. How novel. It makes sense though. I used to spend hours making scrapbooks of every vacation, but I don't usually look back at them. The memories are valuable in themselves. Life is like that too. Spending money to show social status doesn't tend to buy any joy. Minimizing our worldly needs in order to focus on the things that really matter: our friends, our families, beauty in the world, God, love, etc, allows us to develop true inner happiness and peace. The kind of peace that seeks Christ and creates a space for him to dwell in you and you in him.
Maybe the call to sell everything is as radical as it sounds. Maybe it's more of a radical shift in attitude towards the things that really matter. Christ wants to fill us with the joy and wholeness of following him. Maybe the call is a littler bit different for each person.
But definitely, we should do a double take at all the stuff cluttering our lives. Perhaps they represent more worldly attachment than we realize.
What do you think of the call to sell all you have? How do you think the contemplative life of prayer calls people to live? What is the role of possession in your life?
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Comments (20)
I recently moved and realized I had a TON of stuff... I really would like to get rid of a lot of it. I'm starting with all the textbooks from the last three years of college that I was too lazy to try to sell back to the bookstore or sell online. I think after that I'll tackle my closet - I have way too many clothes I don't wear anymore.
Interesting post and view.
Christ has many very difficult teachings and also provides us with the strength to follow those teachings. I do not yet know, but I don't believe Jesus taught this because He knows we can be happy with less; although I think that gratitude and contentment become the bi-products of this action. If I had to venture a guess as to why Jesus taught this discipline, it might follow along the lines of increasing our faith.
It is very difficult to have the kind of faith needed to mature and grow in regards to the fullness of Christ when you have no need of Him for your very survival. It is definitely not impossible, but it is just harder. In addition, the primary reason is to teach us the same disciplines of love and charity that He himself had. God loves the humble. It is precious to Him.
Anyway, Good post and interesting article.
I still remember the joy and excitement when I was accepted into religious life and started making a list of people I wanted to give stuff away to, and then giving it all away. I could probably fit all my worldly possessions in the trunk and backseat of a car, but I can live out of a duffel back for several months at a time.
I think the command to sell everything, was personal to that person, and not meant to be a command for all of us to sell everything.
I think it's a balance, a perspective, and an appreciation of life that counts. I gave all of my things away on at least two occasions, one being my relocation to the Vermont woods. I felt great about it but I wouldn't expect anyone else to believe they have to do the same. Living in a relatively simpler way has always felt better to me. Each person finds their own balance.
@ashleyannaka@xanga - You can do it! One step at a time! Now to get on that myself...
@deepestrecesses - "It is very difficult to have the kind of
faith needed to mature and grow in regards to the fullness of Christ
when you have no need of Him for your very survival."
Great point! The are many aspects to each teaching.
@Ancient_Scribe@xanga - It's so cool that you live like that! I both romanticize being able to live out of a duffel bag and fear it. You really had no hesitations about giving everything away? Incredible!
@TheSutraDude@xanga - "I think it's a balance, a perspective, and an appreciation of life that counts." Yeah! So, you had no trouble giving everything away? Amazing! As I said to Ancient_Scribe, I both romanticize and fear living out of a duffel bag.
PS I really do like the minimalist/simple living philosophy. It seems to get at the heart of life a lot.
@StephanieP - I had no problem giving anything away. I gave things to my friends. I knew they would find value in them and I was heading off to new adventures. My friends were doing me as much a favor as I might have been doing for them.
@StephanieP - There was some hesitation, but I just reminded myself that where I was going and what I was doing, this-thing-or-that was not needed. It isn't something you should do on a whim, of course! But it is pretty freeing!
I don't believe that Jesus commanded everyone to sell what they have and give to the poor. But, I believe we should be willing to.
Thanks for the post!
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - Luke 12:32-34
@foxes_have_holes@xanga - Luke 12:32-34, in the greater context of the surrounding verses, has more to do with the attitude of wanting more and more and more, than it does with a flat command to sell everything. If someone has an issue, with coveting his/her neighbors new gadgets and gizmos, and finds themselves in a never ending search for more and more stuff, than they are putting the stuff before God, and making stuff an idol. However, if they have stuff, and they are using it for the purpose of the kingdom, then I do not see a command for them to sell it.
There is a guy in my church, and he just bought a brand new SUV, with lots of seating, so that he can pick up and bring lots of kids to and from the church for various activites. (he runs the church's bus ministry as well) Well, someone in the church needed to go to a court hearing, in regards to a past offense, and so the guy who owned the new SUV, loaned the SUV out to the guy with the court hearing, so he could make it on time.
Let's say the SUV owner, took Luke 12:32-34 seriously, and sold everything he owned. The other guy would not have made his appointment, and the SUV owner, would not be able to be a foster parent, to a family of 5 kids.
The Bible, has a sense of degree to it, if you are putting stuff above God, then by all means, make your life simpler, by getting rid of enough stuff, that you trust God and put God back as number 1. but for those people, who can own lots of toys, and use them to further the gospel, it is stupid for them to sell everything.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - First of all, what you are talking about is stewardship, which I'm not against.
22Secondly, let us, for a moment, look at the surrounding verses.
Then Jesus said to his
23disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24Consider
25the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn;
yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies
28grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in
all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If
29that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O
you of little faith!
And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
I don't see an attitude of wanting more and more here. I see Jesus telling his disciples to not worry about clothes or food. Once he has set this up, he tells them in 32-34, then, to give up what they aren't worrying about so that they can help the poor.
So stewardship falls into this in the sense that if you do have something, it needs to benefit others. Also on that note, if one looks at the book of Acts, they see common ownership is a much more common practice than individual ownership.
Furthermore, note that, in this passage, opposed to the one in Matthew, Jesus isn't telling one person to sell their possessions, but rather he is telling all of his followers.
Jesus is showing us here a way to love people that goes radically beyond anything that Israel had seen prior to this. As Paul says, "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (I Corinthians 13:3) What Jesus is telling us to do is love, and selling our possessions and giving to the poor is the highest example of that.
@foxes_have_holes@xanga - you didn't go back far enough. Verses 13-21 talk about a rich fool, who just wants to store up more stuff, God tells him that, that night his soul will be taken, and then who does the stuff belong?
Verses 22, then tell us not to be anxious or worry about what we will wear, or what we will eat. God wants us to put our faith in him, and not stuff. The rich fool in 13-21 just wanted bigger barns, he could have given a portion of his increase to charity. No, he tore down his barns and bult bigger ones. His confidence was in his big barns. God took his life, and now he has nothing.
So, I go back to my point, God wants us to put our faith and trust in Him and not stuff. If you can own stuff and use it to increase the kingdom, and you don't put your fait and trust in it, instead of God, then you can own stuff. But if you find yourself wanting more and more, and you put the stuff in front of God, and you start looking at your barns and wanting to build more and more, then the stuff is an idol and you need to toss it.
I was JUST discussing this passage and these ideas with my construction crew in Nicaragua last week. <3 Something I've been thinking about for a while is that maybe the point of this, or rather one of the points, is to identify with the poor, to stand together with them against something that is wrong. It's really easy to live in the US with a crapload of personal belongings, surrounded by huge, beautiful buildings, to maybe write a check once in a while to an organization you've heard is doing good things, and to think eh, I've done my part, I've done what I can do; now I have bills to pay. There's a huge disconnect between the rich and the poor--within the US, yes, but also between the US and most of the rest of the world. For years I've heard people say, "It's different when you SEE it." when they come back from places like Brazil and the CAR, but I couldn't even fully understand what THAT meant until I experienced poverty firsthand myself for the first time in '06. I went to Nicaragua, but the same story is happening all over the world. I have a hunch if you free yourself of what you've been taught is wealth, you'll find things that are more valuable. I am confident that one of these things is a deep sense of community with people living in poverty. Somewhat like the National Marriage Boycott, which challenges straight people to refuse to marry until everyone can marry. If I, as a wealthy member of the planet, refuse to live in or attach value to wealth until my friends are lifted out of abject poverty...yeah. :)
The moral of this story is do you value your possessions more than you value him. Don't try and turn this into wealth as being wrong. Jesus was speaking to a merchant who only focused on money in his life. This reminds me af a man here in central Fl. that cut his hand off because God told him to, He read where it talks about the members of the body. I think people try and make the word to basic, it's time we here the true message. If you put your money before God, yes there is a problem. DONT TRY AND MAKE PEOPLE FEEL GUILTY FOR HAVEING THINGS!!!!!!
Provocative post. I wrote a blog post on FaithBarsista.com today in reflection of your quote on the contemplative life.
http://www.faithbarista.com/2010/08/would-you-be-happier-with-less/
Good stuff, Stephanie!
put Him first. if material possessions are holding you back, get rid of them. sorta like if your left hand causes you to sin, cut it off. not necessarily literal, but getting the point across that He is more important than your left hand and your things.
People never believe me when I tell them that I don't really want a huge house, fancy car, and a load of nice shit.
You know, despite the fact that I don't follow the Bible at all, I like this idea very much. This might be the first Revelife post that I like.