Sell all that you have, give to the poor, and follow me

[Nihilist Virus]

I own a TV, which I hardly ever use. My wife would go ballistic, however, if I got rid of it.

Luke 12:51

1 Corinthians 11:3

Hmmm... I think I might like where you're taking this actually.

Where do you think I'm taking it?

 

[Nihilist Virus]

That edict from Christ would sure put Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, viper eyes pastor, and T.D Jakes, to name just a few into a bad light.
As it should.

OK.

It's a different time now. One could do that and be homeless from the start hoping to rise up to survive through charity. However, it's largely not do-able today. And even metaphorically it isn't either.

So some of Christ's words are no longer relevant?

 

[Soyeong]

Vote!

The example that we have in the Bible is people giving their money to equality, not to poverty. However, Matthew 19:16-30 is not about money, but about discipleship and commitment. According to Jewish thought of the day, all Israel had a portion in the world to come and had already entered into eternal life, so the rich young man would not have been interested in how to obtain something that he already had. However, people can still be cut off from Israel, so his question can be better translated as: what good must I to do to continue holding on to eternal life? He already knew what to do because there is only one who is good who had already given commands for how to do what is good, which is what Jesus told him to do, but he also knew that he lacked something. Jesus responded by talking not about eternal life, but about entering life that is life. True treasure was standing in front of him and what he lacked was the commitment to follow Christ. Instead of focusing on the wrong thing about giving everything away to the point of destitution, we should focus on examining our own lives to see where we lack and put aside anything that hinders us from following Christ in obedience to God's law.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Luke 12:51

1 Corinthians 11:3



Where do you think I'm taking it?

I do think you have some valid points. I'm a father in a family of 6. I struggle in teaching my family the art of Minimalism -something I believe does, somehow, somewhere hold a kind of value that's hard to put your finger on. It is very hard to explain 'why' it's important.

 

[Landon Caeli]

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/

 

[Winken]

Vote!

If a questionnaire can be poorly constructed, it will be. This questionnaire ranks right up there in the poorest category.

 

[LostMarbels]

Wow... to be honest this one has me thinking. I feel as if I'm lucky to even be saved. Rewards in heaven? Do I deserve them? I feel as if I am the poster child of what is not savable. I am a Xcon, an X drug user. I have had many, many women in my bed, including married women. Homosexual/bi-sexual lovers. A lair, adulterous thief. I have many crimes, and sins against me. As revealed in other posts, I was a Wiccan, and latter a satanist. I have performed the Gnostic mass, and have purposely asked demons into my soul. And again to be perfectly honest.... I have never been arrogant enough to exspect any rewards. I am rewarded enough to be forgiven, and free of my past. I give because it is expected of me by my Father in heaven, and you cannot please God without faith, or obedience. Who doesn't want to make their Daddy proud? To crawl in their lap and hear: "I'm proud of you". or "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

That is my motivation.

Now to address the obvious trap: It isn't my commission to give all that I have. God doesn't care that I own a TV, and I am not held responsible for the problems of the entire world. I am held responsible for those who were put in MY life. These are the homeless I go to in their camps, and hangout. Give them food, and even spend the night under the stars with them. I cant even give a number how many people I have had live in my house to get them off the streets. I became an addictions counselor to help addicts. The homosexuals, and bisexuals I know from gay clubs/bars in town. The crazy women everyone hated in our neighborhood. I was the last person to talk to her before she died, and we talked about Jesus. On, and on. But none of that matters. That is not what is important. What is important is to remain a beacon on a hill in your life. Why? because that is what we were commissioned to do by Jesus. Personal goodies are meaningless.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

The example that we have in the Bible is people giving their money to equality, not to poverty. However, Matthew 19:16-30 is not about money, but about discipleship and commitment. According to Jewish thought of the day, all Israel had a portion in the world to come and had already entered into eternal life, so the rich young man would not have been interested in how to obtain something that he already had. However, people can still be cut off from Israel, so his question can be better translated as: what good must I to do to continue holding on to eternal life? He already knew what to do because there is only one who is good who had already given commands for how to do what is good, which is what Jesus told him to do, but he also knew that he lacked something. Jesus responded by talking not about eternal life, but about entering life that is life. True treasure was standing in front of him and what he lacked was the commitment to follow Christ. Instead of focusing on the wrong thing about giving everything away to the point of destitution, we should focus on examining our own lives to see where we lack and put aside anything that hinders us from following Christ in obedience to God's law.

So what is your vote?

 

[Nihilist Virus]

I do think you have some valid points. I'm a father in a family of 6. I struggle in teaching my family the art of Minimalism -something I believe does, somehow, somewhere hold a kind of value that's hard to put your finger on. It is very hard to explain 'why' it's important.

Perhaps instead of explaining why it's important you should walk the right path yourself and let them see your light shine.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

If a questionnaire can be poorly constructed, it will be. This questionnaire ranks right up there in the poorest category.

If you are uninterested in a reward, it's because you think the reward is either insufficient, uninteresting, or nonexistent.

If you think the offer made to the rich young ruler is not on the table for you, then you can vote, "No, I do not think I will be rewarded fairly in heaven."

All the choices you need are available to you.

It is acceptable to disagree with this and even prove me wrong by providing another choice. What is not acceptable is your careless insult that contributes nothing to the conversation. If you have nothing to contribute except insults, kindly take it somewhere else.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

Wow... to be honest this one has me thinking. I feel as if I'm lucky to even be saved. Rewards in heaven? Do I deserve them? I feel as if I am the poster child of what is not savable. I am a Xcon, an X drug user. I have had many, many women in my bed, including married women. Homosexual/bi-sexual lovers. A lair, adulterous thief. I have many crimes, and sins against me. As revealed in other posts, I was a Wiccan, and latter a satanist. I have performed the Gnostic mass, and have purposely asked demons into my soul. And again to be perfectly honest.... I have never been arrogant enough to exspect any rewards. I am rewarded enough to be forgiven, and free of my past. I give because it is expected of me by my Father in heaven, and you cannot please God without faith, or obedience. Who doesn't want to make their Daddy proud? To crawl in their lap and hear: "I'm proud of you". or "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

That is my motivation.

Now to address the obvious trap: It isn't my commission to give all that I have. God doesn't care that I own a TV, and I am not held responsible for the problems of the entire world. I am held responsible for those who were put in MY life. These are the homeless I go to in their camps, and hangout. Give them food, and even spend the night under the stars with them. I cant even give a number how many people I have had live in my house to get them off the streets. I became an addictions counselor to help addicts. The homosexuals, and bisexuals I know from gay clubs/bars in town. The crazy women everyone hated in our neighborhood. I was the last person to talk to her before she died, and we talked about Jesus. On, and on. But none of that matters. That is not what is important. What is important is to remain a beacon on a hill in your life. Why? because that is what we were commissioned to do by Jesus. Personal goodies are meaningless.

You remark on how grateful you are to be saved.

You know that Jesus said whatever you do unto the poor you do unto him.

I find it hard to believe that you can be so grateful to be saved and yet so unwilling to give all you have to Jesus.

 

[LostMarbels]

I find it hard to believe that you can be so grateful to be saved and yet so unwilling to give all you have to Jesus.

And I'm ok with that. Some of the passages of the bible require a certain amount of understanding. Not only do you lack the understand of your own assertion, I also do not answer to your ability of belief. The problem with this entire thread is your argument is subjective. When something is subjective, it is considered a matter of personal opinion. Truth is considered to be independent of personal opinion. That is to say, personal opinion cannot change the truth. Any position that is held that is not unchangeable, immutable, or eternal is opinion; it is not truth.

When someone says, “prove to me that Christianity is true.” They are not asking you proclaim, “In my opinion, Christianity is true.” Instead, they are asking you to prove to them that Christianity is true despite their opinion that Christianity isn’t true. The problem is, the atheist’s burden of proof is an opinion, and one should not test truths using opinions because truths are always true independently of individual opinion or personal conviction.

When the atheists say, “prove to me that God exists” or “prove to me that Christianity is true,” many of them have a different burden of proof in mind. One might ask, “If God exists, why doesn’t he heal amputees?” Another will ask, “Why is it that God won’t just come down and show himself to me?” Another may say, “If God exists, he can prove himself to me by ridding the world of evil and suffering.” Perhaps another atheist will ignorantly say, “If God exists, he would be testable by the scientific method.” Different atheists will give different levels and conditions concerning what constitutes as meeting the burden of proof.

This is, unfortunately for the atheist, where their request to prove that Christianity is true falls apart. Truth is immutable, unchangeable, and absolute, but the burden of proof that each atheist says they require is completely subjective and nothing more than personal opinion. If we are to be justified in believing in any proposition, we must have a concrete way to test the truth of propositions. A subjective standard will not do. If the burden of proof for any truth is subjective, then anyone can be justified in believing in any proposition, including Christianity, as long as the burden of proof has been met for that individual. If the burden of proof is subjective, then a universal truth cannot be considered universal, rather, all “truths” are a matter of personal opinion.

 

[LostMarbels]

You remark on how grateful you are to be saved.

You know that Jesus said whatever you do unto the poor you do unto him.

This is a good point, and is why I feed them. Go out in the woods to talk with them and just hangout. I have clothed them. Gave them a home to live in. Helped them to get a job, helped some with addictions, and job placement. And so on, and so on....

And you know what? Not only do I own a TV, I own a playstation, an Xbox, a Nintendo wee, a Ps4, 4 computers, 4 cars, tons of movies, I have cable, internet, And... sin of all sins, a really nice house. Why? Because God has blessed me. But in the long run I have also faced a lot of hardship serving others. People are mean at times. I have been stolen from, lied to, threatened, and even questioned by others as to why I would throw my money away to them. It's not all peaches and cream. I have had some real moments where I have asked God: "You want me to do what?" And what's more is I am almost completely broke myself. I barely make it week to week. But for some reason I always manage to make it regardless of how much I give to others. It is seed man! You reap what you sow. You give, you get. I have found that God will provide you with ample goods to give away and survive. It all comes down to: do you trust God or the numbers on your paycheck.

 

[Winken]

If you are uninterested in a reward, it's because you think the reward is either insufficient, uninteresting, or nonexistent.

If you think the offer made to the rich young ruler is not on the table for you, then you can vote, "No, I do not think I will be rewarded fairly in heaven."

All the choices you need are available to you.

It is acceptable to disagree with this and even prove me wrong by providing another choice. What is not acceptable is your careless insult that contributes nothing to the conversation. If you have nothing to contribute except insults, kindly take it somewhere else.

I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is Faithful to keep that which He and I have committed against that day.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

And I'm ok with that. Some of the passages of the bible require a certain amount of understanding. Not only do you lack the understand of your own assertion, I also do not answer to your ability of belief. The problem with this entire thread is your argument is subjective. When something is subjective, it is considered a matter of personal opinion. Truth is considered to be independent of personal opinion. That is to say, personal opinion cannot change the truth. Any position that is held that is not unchangeable, immutable, or eternal is opinion; it is not truth.

When someone says, “prove to me that Christianity is true.” They are not asking you proclaim, “In my opinion, Christianity is true.” Instead, they are asking you to prove to them that Christianity is true despite their opinion that Christianity isn’t true. The problem is, the atheist’s burden of proof is an opinion, and one should not test truths using opinions because truths are always true independently of individual opinion or personal conviction.

When the atheists say, “prove to me that God exists” or “prove to me that Christianity is true,” many of them have a different burden of proof in mind. One might ask, “If God exists, why doesn’t he heal amputees?” Another will ask, “Why is it that God won’t just come down and show himself to me?” Another may say, “If God exists, he can prove himself to me by ridding the world of evil and suffering.” Perhaps another atheist will ignorantly say, “If God exists, he would be testable by the scientific method.” Different atheists will give different levels and conditions concerning what constitutes as meeting the burden of proof.

This is, unfortunately for the atheist, where their request to prove that Christianity is true falls apart. Truth is immutable, unchangeable, and absolute, but the burden of proof that each atheist says they require is completely subjective and nothing more than personal opinion. If we are to be justified in believing in any proposition, we must have a concrete way to test the truth of propositions. A subjective standard will not do. If the burden of proof for any truth is subjective, then anyone can be justified in believing in any proposition, including Christianity, as long as the burden of proof has been met for that individual. If the burden of proof is subjective, then a universal truth cannot be considered universal, rather, all “truths” are a matter of personal opinion.

Belief in God is not rational. I explain this in my new thread The universe with no need of God, here in the apologetics forum.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

This is a good point, and is why I feed them. Go out in the woods to talk with them and just hangout. I have clothed them. Gave them a home to live in. Helped them to get a job, helped some with addictions, and job placement. And so on, and so on....

And you know what? Not only do I own a TV, I own a playstation, an Xbox, a Nintendo wee, a Ps4, 4 computers, 4 cars, tons of movies, I have cable, internet, And... sin of all sins, a really nice house. Why? Because God has blessed me. But in the long run I have also faced a lot of hardship serving others. People are mean at times. I have been stolen from, lied to, threatened, and even questioned by others as to why I would throw my money away to them. It's not all peaches and cream. I have had some real moments where I have asked God: "You want me to do what?" And what's more is I am almost completely broke myself. I barely make it week to week. But for some reason I always manage to make it regardless of how much I give to others. It is seed man! You reap what you sow. You give, you get. I have found that God will provide you with ample goods to give away and survive. It all comes down to: do you trust God or the numbers on your paycheck.

Does your TV help you glorify God? I'd wager that it doesn't. In fact I'd wager that it causes you to sin. Remind me what Jesus said to do with your hand or your eye if they cause you to sin. Are those things not more valuable than your TV? What, then, should you do with that TV?

Perhaps you should sell it and give the money to the poor. Perhaps you should just destroy it so it doesn't cause others to stumble. What you should not do is own it, and above all what you should not do is use it.

But hey, I have no intention of dumping the things in my life that cause me to sin. In fact, I want more such things. Perhaps one day I might have as many as you do.

 

[Nihilist Virus]

I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is Faithful to keep that which He and I have committed against that day.

Off topic.

 

[Soyeong]

So what is your vote?

No, we shouldn't sell all we have, yes, we should give money to the poor, do good works, and preach the Gospel, yes, I want to make Jesus proud, and yes, I want to do it regardless of whether there is a reward in heaven.

 

[LostMarbels]

Belief in God is not rational. I explain this in my new thread The universe with no need of God, here in the apologetics forum.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[LostMarbels]

Does your TV help you glorify God? I'd wager that it doesn't. In fact I'd wager that it causes you to sin. Remind me what Jesus said to do with your hand or your eye if they cause you to sin. Are those things not more valuable than your TV? What, then, should you do with that TV?

Perhaps you should sell it and give the money to the poor. Perhaps you should just destroy it so it doesn't cause others to stumble. What you should not do is own it, and above all what you should not do is use it.

Your on this tangent that not only doesn't fit your argument, it makes no logical sense.

Nothing subjective. Give me facts. Support your argument. Don't try to think you're going to get me to change my stance by constantly repeating the same error over, and over, and over, and over.............

You sir are wrong. Your arguement is flawed. here is why:

(Mar 10:19-27) Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Sell all you have, pick up your cross and follow me. Jesus just asked him to be a disciple. Just like when he said:
Mar 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
Mar 1:18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

Ok look at Mark 1:18: And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. They left all their material wealth behind, immediately, because Jesus was of more value to them. Not so for the other guy.

And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. See? This guy was mad wealthy, and he did not count Christ worthy of all his worldly possessions. So he decide to keep his wealth over his "Master".

Now... I know you're going to think this is a blanket statement for all believers, but it isn't. This is not a commandment. Jesus exposed the greed in this mans heart. This was a gut check. This also doesn't mean the man died in sin either. All of that believe are convicted by God about things in our lives He want us to deal with. Jesus even goes on to say that with God, even a man with such greed can be saved.

But hey, I have no intention of dumping the things in my life that cause me to sin. In fact, I want more such things. Perhaps one day I might have as many as you do.

I'm not a high and mighty person. I admit my faults. I am no different than you. The only difference is I confess Jesus Christ a Lord.