What Owns Your Heart

(Originally written for Douglas County Publishing: Pastor's Meditation September 19, 2017)

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

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.”  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.  Then Jesus said to his disciples, ”I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:16,21-26)

I wrote on this passage a couple years ago, but it’s worth coming back to again.  Recently I have found myself thinking more and more about money.  I have thought about my family’s finances and planning around student and vehicle loans while expecting a third kid.  I have budgeted youth group expenses and estimated how much different summer trips will cost.  I have discussed with loved ones about trying to figure out how to best stretch their money with housing, vehicles, and making solid decisions amid changes. 

I grew up really enjoying math, but as much as I still like thinking in terms of numbers, it’s been a reminder that financial planning is stressful.  Living within our means and working within a limited budget takes effort. (That’s something that I make sure to share with couples as they go through premarital counseling!)

While these thoughts have been going through my head, I also find myself watching shows on HGTV about tiny houses.  These homes, usually mobile to some degree, are under 400 sq. ft.   The people looking to move into one typically are single or a couple, though occasionally they have a kid or kids as well.  Some people look at tiny houses to lower the financial burden of home ownership.  Others want to live in a scenic place and see this as a manageable way to afford those settings.  But almost all these folks talk about wanting to downsize.  They see value in not having so much stuff.

Having lived in modest apartments during college and seminary, and sleeping on no more than a sleeping bag outside during my summers at camp, I can understand the appeal.  There were times when I had everything I owned packed into my bedroom, and everything I needed for a week packed into a tote.  Getting married, having kids, starting a career, and developing new interests has changed things though.  My wife and I and our family have accumulated a lot of stuff.  The thought of decluttering and simplifying sounds really good, but I have that nagging feeling that if we’d ever pursue that, there’d be times when I wish I had something that got left behind. 

In the passage above, given the title “The Rich Young Man” in the NIV, we see this clinging to things, to possessions, to material wealth being critiqued by Jesus.  If you read the verses that are left out, the man tells Jesus he’s followed all the commandments to love his neighbor.  He’s a good guy, he’s just got a lot of stuff!  He asks Jesus in verse 20, “What do I still lack?” a question that could also be phrased, “In what do I fall short?”  Jesus’ response essentially asks him, “Will you give it all up to follow me?  Am I worth it?”

We don’t know what happens in the end.  All we are told is that he walked away sad.  The record in Mark’s gospel does include, “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21).  I’d like to think that at some point, he was able to give it all up, though probably not on this day, and that he has inherited the kingdom of heaven, which is worth so much more than any earthly possession! 

But what would that take?  Did he just have to declutter?  Did he just have to give his stuff to other people, so that now they had to go talk to Jesus and he could tell them to give it away to someone else?  Is this a lesson that just seeks to promote garage sales or donations to thrift stores or similar charitable actions?  In part, it is to show love.  If you have something that your neighbor lacks and is in need of, you can serve them in Christian love by making what you have available to them for their benefit.

But the greater lesson it seems is what owns your heart?  ”If you want to be perfect, go, sell…and give, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  Last time I wrote on this I asked, what matters most?  This time I wonder is there something for you and me that we don’t want to give up?  Jesus says, “Let it go,” and we don’t even try to say something, to make an excuse, we just walk away sadly because we know our affection, our selfishness, to things other than God’s perfect way.

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  It’s not just decluttering.  It’s not just finally being able to say, I don’t want this sin or that addiction or that possession anymore.  In order to have treasure in heaven, to treasure what the kingdom of God offers, and to follow Christ, requires that we allow God to live and work in us.  We must surrender ourselves to God, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross.  Will you do that?  Will you let go of whatever has accumulated in your life, and let God own you and fill you with his grace and truth?