Mark 10:17-27 : “17 As Jesus went out into the street, a young man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?” 18-19 Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.” 20 He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!” 21 Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.” 22 The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
Many people preach this verse in correlation with the man being rich or having much. But when I read this text I see another glaring message. It is the message or warning about being unwilling to give away that which yours / earned to those who did not earn it. It reminds me of our society and how we hold on so tightly to our stuff. How as Americans we cry “Socialism!” like someone is trying to kill us.
Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also.”
This is why Jesus said give it all away so your wealth will be heavenly wealth. This man wanted to follow Jesus, but because his heart was with his earthly treasures…he walked away sad.
Let us look at where our treasures lie. How entitled are we? Do we feel angry at the idea of giving our hard earned money away to someone who didn’t earn it? And if so…why? If we find ourselves giving earthly, selfish, judgmental reasons for why we don’t want to give to the poor and undeserving…then maybe we have more in common with the young ruler than we thought.
Act 4:32-36 (The Voice Version) reads, “32 During those days, the entire community of believers was deeply united in heart and soul to such an extent that they stopped claiming private ownership of their possessions. Instead, they held everything in common. 33 The apostles with great power gave their eyewitness reports of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Everyone was surrounded by an extraordinary grace. 34 Not a single person in the community was in need because those who had been affluent sold their houses or lands and brought the proceeds 35 to the emissaries[a] of the Lord. They then distributed the funds to individuals according to their needs.”
So·cial·ism: (n.) 1.a theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
Sounds pretty similar to me.
_________________
I live a community lifestyle now. We live together. Work together. Eat together. Go to church together. We do not get paid, but all monies earned through our jobs go back to the house. All is provided for through the united efforts of the community. I have all that I need and then some. Because we share our resources, I have access to MORE than I could ever provide for myself alone. If I were depending on just my money, I would have to work very hard and toil to make more and more money to provide for a car for one person/family, a house for one person/family, food for one person/family…replicating everything over and over and over…using up unnecessary land and resources.
Together we use less…together we produce more.
It aint rocket science…this is good stuff!
Hippie Christian Chick 