If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions...

[Poweranimals]

This scripture has always struck a chord with me and it's always bothered me. Recently I've been thinking about it a lot and it came up in a sermon I heard on Sunday. Again while I was reading the book of Mark. Does God really want to me to give up all my possessions? If so, what does he want me to do with my life? "Follow him" is such a vague statement. At least it made a bit more sense to rich man since Jesus was there in the flesh.

I've always tried to follow God and I know that I've been far from perfect but that doesn't stop me from trying. Anyway, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the scripture and what it means to you.

Matthew 19:21 (New International Version)

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

 

[Christsdaughter]

I would like to share this devotional with you regarding this passage. Maybe it will help you to understand. It is not necessarily ALWAYS about physical possessions, though we should be willing to give to those in need and not hold onto our earthly possessions with clinched fists. We need to be willing to give it all if the Lord leads, but that verse doesn't mean that you need to give everything away right now, unless of course the Lord leads you to. Anyway...here is the website to the devotional:

Are You Discouraged or Devoted? | My Utmost For His Highest

And the continuation of this devotional:

Have You Ever Been Speechless with Sorrow? | My Utmost For His Highest

 

[Christsdaughter]

I hope that these will help you understand what the Lords intends for you personally through that verse.

God Bless!

Christsdaughter

 

[visionary]

Lift up all that you have in prayer, like an offering plate, and let the Lord go through it, and let Him discard that which is holding you back from following a closer walk with Him. Be willing to let go of the secrets, the favorite "little" sins that so easy beset you. Hoarders are a great example of those who through physical evidence are burdened by their past... Is your house reflecting the same?

 

[Life2Christ]

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

I think Jesus was telling it like it is. At the end of your life the only thing that matters is your relationships with the people in your life and your relationship with God. This is what you will be judged on and the only thing of real value in your life. I wish I had a better answer. I'm a handbag nut. I'm hoping through my relationship with God through Jesus that I can have clarity and fulfillment in other things. I'm a work in progress.

 

[suzybeezy]

That verse always made me think of giving up whatever you're putting before God. Often we get so caught up in the things of this world - whether its our posessions or our position in life or our relationships or our wealth or whatever - that we loose God as our main focus. We easily forget that all the things of this world are really meaningless and its only when we truly follow God completely that we find our real treasure.

 

[christandisrael]

The Lord was more interested in his heart.

 

[Johnnz]

That verse is part of a story. It's not a general statement for Christians to sell everything.

The man was young and rich, probably a landowner with inherited wealth, derived from impoverished farmers selling their property to him to pay their debts and now seen as mere slaves. As a devout Jew he was well aware of the OT laws about not depriving families of their means of livelihood for ever (Jubilee) and that slavery for other Israelites was strictly limited.

The young man would know of this scripture:

Lev 25:39-41

39 "'If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. 40 He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property of his forefathers

Jesus was challenging him to go beyond his religious piety and demonstrate genuine adherence to the Law (and thus to God) by releasing his tenants from their bonds of slavery and returning ther land to them.

Active support on behalf of the poor is an obligation for all Christians.

John
NZ

 

[visionary]

Hoarding is for pack rates...lol

 

[Macx]

That verse is part of a story. It's not a general statement for Christians to sell everything.

The man was young and rich, probably a landowner with inherited wealth, derived from impoverished farmers selling their property to him to pay their debts and now seen as mere slaves. As a devout Jew he was well aware of the OT laws about not depriving families of their means of livelihood for ever (Jubilee) and that slavery for other Israelites was strictly limited.

The young man would know of this scripture:

Lev 25:39-41

39 "'If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. 40 He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property of his forefathers

Jesus was challenging him to go beyond his religious piety and demonstrate genuine adherence to the Law (and thus to God) by releasing his tenants from their bonds of slavery and returning ther land to them.

Active support on behalf of the poor is an obligation for all Christians.

John
NZ

This.

 

[Chris_G]

This scripture has always struck a chord with me and it's always bothered me. Recently I've been thinking about it a lot and it came up in a sermon I heard on Sunday. Again while I was reading the book of Mark. Does God really want to me to give up all my possessions? If so, what does he want me to do with my life? "Follow him" is such a vague statement. At least it made a bit more sense to rich man since Jesus was there in the flesh.

I've always tried to follow God and I know that I've been far from perfect but that doesn't stop me from trying. Anyway, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the scripture and what it means to you.

Matthew 19:21 (New International Version)

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

To understand what this parable means, you have to go back to the beginning. What does the rich man ask Jesus? How to inherit eternal life. So Jesus told him how, by reciting part of the ten commandments. The rich man declared he had kept all those commandments, then asks what else does he need to do. That's when Jesus said, "if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor..." Jesus IS NOT teaching that the way into heaven is by selling your stuff or giving to the poor. You can not buy your way into heaven, or do enough good deeds to get in. The rich man really thought he was keeping the commandments to earn salvation, so he saw himself as perfect and self-righteous. He loved his money and riches more than God, and that part of the ten commandments about loving God and worshiping Him only, he was not keeping. He had broken them, and so was guilty and in danger of eternal hell. Jesus knew this man's heart, and this man was not willing to deny himself, give up on his self-righteousness and riches, which he worshipped and loved more than God, for the sake of coming to Christ to be saved. He would not recognize his own sinfulness and his need for a Savior. That's why Jesus said, "if you come to Me and do not hate your own life, or give up all that you have, you can not be My disciple." Again, He's not teaching that giving away your stuff is the way to get saved. He is teaching that at that point that you're coming to Christ to be saved, you are willing to abandon everything that you've been trusting in or holding on to. This parable is about salvation, not about feeding the poor. It's about the sinner coming to Christ saying, "Save me. Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, please save me."

 

[DLC]

This scripture has always struck a chord with me and it's always bothered me. Recently I've been thinking about it a lot and it came up in a sermon I heard on Sunday. Again while I was reading the book of Mark. Does God really want to me to give up all my possessions? If so, what does he want me to do with my life? "Follow him" is such a vague statement. At least it made a bit more sense to rich man since Jesus was there in the flesh.

I've always tried to follow God and I know that I've been far from perfect but that doesn't stop me from trying. Anyway, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the scripture and what it means to you.

Matthew 19:21 (New International Version)

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

No. what Jesus is saying is that you can't work your way to heaven.

 

[Aibrean]

What Johnnz said...it's also VERY important that you consider context rather than an individual verse. Otherwise you'll be condemning yourself to hell a lot.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Poweranimals. The man asked Jesus first about what does the Bible say.? When Jesus told him: love God, love your father and mother, etc. The man told Jesus that he does all the Bible says, and then it was that Jesus said to him: " If you want to be perfect, sell all you have and give it to the poor." Jesus knew the rich man would never do that, he was only proving how well he followed God`s Commandments. God never said that we should give all our possessions away, but to be a perfect follower of Jesus, we should give up all wealth, and live on what God gives us day by day, as some followers do. I say this humbly and with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Chris_G]

Dear Poweranimals. The man asked Jesus first about what does the Bible say.? When Jesus told him: love God, love your father and mother, etc. The man told Jesus that he does all the Bible says, and then it was that Jesus said to him: " If you want to be perfect, sell all you have and give it to the poor." Jesus knew the rich man would never do that, he was only proving how well he followed God`s Commandments. God never said that we should give all our possessions away, but to be a perfect follower of Jesus, we should give up all wealth, and live on what God gives us day by day, as some followers do. I say this humbly and with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

The bible doesn't teach to give up all your wealth. It does teach to not love it and not trust in it, but to love God and trust in Him. No one is a perfect follower of Jesus, for such a person would never sin again.

 

[heron]

Adding to the great comments above on context...

Think about how the story ended up in the Bible. Jesus had a conversation with a man. The apostles recalled the many wonderful things that happened during Jesus' ministry, and wanted to write them down.

In recording the conversations and events, the teachings of Jesus could be passed along to more people, and the belief system could be protected from random sways of opinion.

We like to read the Bible as encouragement, taking single verses like fortune cookies to perk up our day. That is not necessarily wrong, but we shouldn't just take any verse and cling to it without comparing how it stands amidst the other verses. Most of us would agree with that, but we still tend to isolate verses.

Did Jesus himself give up everything He had? He still had sandles, and rented rooms to meet in.

The disciples still had boats to fish in, so they didn't give up everything. Jesus assigned one of his disciples to manage money, so they didn't give it up as a group either.

If so, what does he want me to do with my life? "Follow him" is such a vague statement.

Look at it from the broad "world peace" perspective. How would world peace come about?

It obviously doesn't come from one or two dictators declaring that wars will never be fought, because we all know our neighbors and families will continue to bicker and spar.

If all the resources of the world were pooled and everyone were given the same amount, would everyone be happy? Probably not.

Now picture a situation where a neighborhood watched each others' kids, had each other over for dinner, helped out during crises, helped each other with house projects, shared garden produce. What they gain is not just stuff, but the satisfaction of being cared for.

Life is good, because people around them make them feel like life is good.

Imagine if the whole world did that -- everyone cared for the people around them. If this played out to the extreme ideal, we would not need to talk about world peace or famine. Everyone would have someone caring for them.

Now look at your life. How can you fit your ideal scenario about world suffering/happiness into the way you live your Christian life?

Also, what ways can God's power work more efficiently and powerfully through you, than you ever could?