My dollar bills have the face of Jesus on them, what about yours?

I recently was engaged in a topic that so many people struggle with. Can I follow Jesus if I still own things? Tommy is a dear friend of mine, and I though that this was to long to email to him, and time to well spent to simply email to him. So, feel free to comment... for this is not only for Tommy, but for the rulers of the free world:)

“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the rich young ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

No need for ad hominem attacks on whether or not my perceptions of what your Biblical interpretations are. My perception is not skewed. You said something. I heard it. Now, you have said something different.

I do not disagree that Christ calls us to follow Him, and thus giving up a healthy financial lifestyle and family focused customs. I think Christ calls for us to carry our Cross daily and follow Him. God does not change, but the times we live in do. Sadly, it is the case in some lives that money is an issue; an issue that cannot be easily given up in one single day. From what I have read and, if I understand correctly, you say that we cannot follow Christ unless we physically give away all things. This is a dutiful thing to do as a Christian, but this also means that my parents, my pastor, my favorite authors and speakers are not followers of Christ. I heartily disagree. I am also disgusted on the way Biblical interpretation has been thrown around loosely in the age in which we live in.

I intend now to not battle with words or wit, but to lie down a foundation of what is and is not true in regards to the Bible. It is a lofty subject that even the greatest minds of our day still have trouble with. With the knowledge that I have (however slim it may be) and the relationship I have (and how intimate a relationship it is) with Yeshua, let me know jump into this essay.

I hold true to the canon that Yeshua is Lord, everything else, politically and economically speaking, is subjective. “…The words of Christ as infallible but the rest of man-written scripture and ideas, I am still unsure about.” Each Gospel was written for different sects of people. For example, Matthew was written mainly for the Jews while Luke was written for the Greeks. The way that Jesus taught was nothing new, and also influenced the writers of not only the Gospels, but also the various letters by Paul in the New Testament. It was what the Jewish people called ‘Targum,’ which, as Bruce Chilton states in his book Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, “…paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible rendered in Aramaic…The Targums were part of the ‘Torah on the lips,’ the oral version of Scripture that Jesus worked from, and they were different in important ways from the Hebrew texts.” Jesus taught the way the ancient Rabbis taught, that being in stories and tales to prove a point. We know them as parables.

The reason I mention this is to prove that the Old Testament is to be trusted. It is not literature, but the historical backings of what went down. Though I do agree, however, that the legitimacy of some of the accounts are more than welcomed to be questioned, simply because some are so outrageous (see 2 Kings 2:23-27, the mauling of 42 youths by two female bears), I also know that these are the scriptures from which Jesus of Nazareth taught. If what you say is true, that the words of Christ are infallible but everything else is “unsure,” then you negate the words of Christ. We see in Matthew 5:17 that Christ came to uphold and fulfill the Law of the Prophets. In Galatians 4:4, we read that Christ was born under the Law. He lived in perfect obedience to the Law. He was a minister of the Law to the Jews, clearing it from rabbinical reasoning, enforcing it upon those who professed to obey it (Luke 10:25-37), but confirming the promises made to the fathers under the Mosaic Covenant. He fulfilled the types of the Law by His holy life and sacrificial death. He bore, vicariously, the curse of the Law, so that the Abrahamic Covenant might profit all who believe (Galatians 3:13-14). Most importantly, He mediated by His blood the New Covenant of assurance and grace in which all believers stand, so establishing the “Law of Christ” with its precepts of righteous living made possible by the indwelling son.

Christ is the Son of God, that God being the same God of the Old and New Testament.

Pick and choose what sounds consistent with Christ’s words. I don’t object to that. But know also that by abiding by the words of Christ, you are abiding also by the words of His earthly fathers.

Am I “warping Bonhoeffer’s words to (my) own liking?” As living off the graces of God through my parents and not through the Church or any organization, I would say that I have not “warped” his words. I have meditated over them, as well as the words of Christ, and have come to the conclusion that, in our times, we can follow Christ while still having possessions. If it were totally and absolutely up to me, I would say that this shouldn’t be the case and all. Christians have become lazy… which is absolutely true. However, I do not have the say in others’ lives. I cannot tell my parents that they are sinful in their ownership of their house and thus have not faith in God. My father, James Frey, has faith that God will provide. He provided the house we live in, the food we eat and the beds in which we sleep. The words thank, thankful, thankfulness, thanks and thanksgiving are mentioned in the Bible 24 times. In the Psalms, we read numerous times to give thanks for God’s protection and His goodness in our lives. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15; written by Paul, perhaps the one person to know the heart and mind of Christ better than any other man who has lived… a personal opinion).

Is it wrong to own possessions? Of course not. Is it wrong to own a possession and hold it over the heads of others, Christ and most importantly, ourselves? For some of us, total separation is needed. Our things get in the way of our relationship with Christ. Anything that gets in the way is an idol, and we ought not to idolize anything other than God. I would say that if we are called to a life of poverty, than this is a different story. But to each his own. Not every man, woman and child is called to a life of poverty. Not every man, woman and child is called to a life of possessions, simply because they cannot handle them and their relationship with Christ. As we become united with Christ, our possessions not longer mean anything to us. We live as though we have nothing, and are grateful for the graces given to us. If need be, we sell those possessions and give to the poor and needy.

The question is; do we give our own possessions on our own? Certainly not! In Philippians, Paul says that Jesus came to earth and viewed equality with God something that cannot be grasped. Being one with Christ is nothing to be grasped physically. It is a mental, emotional and spiritual state. For example, no one can make himself or herself humble. It is a process in which God puts one through in order to experience and thus live as Christ lived.

Regarding faith, we ought to have faith that Christ will provide. The “stuff” that has been given to us has been given to us, by God, in our faith in Him. We must also have faith that God will give and take as needed in order for us to experience Him.

Know this; I am not directing any of this towards you individually, Tommy, but to all Christians, me included. Living where we live, eating what we eat and driving what we drive, it can be difficult to suddenly sell all and live in total poverty. I wish this could be the case for all those who want to follow Christ, but not all people have the luxury of selling all for the sake of Christ. The riches of others bless people, sometimes. In Acts, we see that all people give their possessions to each other and share equally between each other (funny… we started with communism!).

Last time I checked, it is necessary to thank God for the ability to make money. The ability to make money brings food to the table. The food on the table strengthens us to do the work that Christ calls us to do. Whether it is missionary service or the CEO of a major corporation, all thanks must be to God and to no one or nothing else. God is lost in provision. God is found in giving. Though time and effort is well and good, a starving person is in need of food. Food can be provided by those who are able afford the time and effort to make money in order to give to that starving person.

Now, it may be the argument that people have now, why not give now. I agree. There are have and then there are have-nots. This is a fact that is undesirable. As people of God, it is our commission to express need where it is needed. As we preach the word not only of salvation, but also humility and a spirit of giving as taught by Christ, the word is heard and the need is met through the graces given to individuals in the format of monies and resources.

Humans are greedy. Christians ought not to be normal human beings, but rather striving to be as Christ was.

Accepting wealth is not a bad thing when done so knowing that wealth comes from God, and God alone. I do not disagree that being wealthy in the midst of poverty is a cancer. Though, accepting it and knowing that it is not ours to keep but God’s gift to us allows those who are rich (me not being one of them) to yearn to follow Christ and to act upon that, even with money.

The rich young ruler is a story that, like anything else in the Scriptures, and especially those words in the red letters, can be taken and made into something that we may find appealing. I know for a fact that living a simplistic lifestyle is attractive to you. I’ve talked about with you, discussed it with you, and watched that wild video that you posted recently. The Psalters, was it? This rich young ruler could be the most under rated portraits of Jesus in the Gospels. Here, we have a man who has everything, and desires nothing but Christ, but cannot follow that one simple command; leave all and follow me.

You need to read carefully here. All the other things I have written here are useless in comparison to this one very important point. When Christ looks at this young ruler, who has all he has ever wanted, and tells him that he needs to get rid of possessions and give it to the poor (which is an incredibly noble deed), it’s not the fact that Jesus is asking this young man to get rid of his riches that is so important, it is the fact that if he was willing to surrender his life to Christ, all his desire for money would have faded in the light of grace and knowledge of Christ. I think here, we see the man's dilemma in it's brightest list; I want to follow Christ, but I want also to be rich, but I would use the money for myself, and not for the liking of others. Yes, here the man is faced with his own personal cost of discipleship. Leave my want for money for the want of Christ, or continue to live in desire to make more money. This rich young ruler, according to the Greek text, was between 24 and 40 and had a very high place in society (neaniskos-relatively young man; sphodra-very high point on a scale of extent). He has worked his way to the top. He has made his money. Christ tells him to leave that desire, that want, that yearning for financial security to follow Him.

Giving to the poor, in itself, is not what Christ asks us to do. Anyone, Christian or not, can give to the poor. It is the motive behind it. It is the separation between ourselves with Christ and ourself and our riches. Is it possible to live a life separated from riches and yet still have earthly ownership of them? Absolutely. Is it possible to have money and still follow Christ in the workplace? Without a doubt.

Christ calls each person to cut his desires mentally and emotionally and if need be physically. Some hearts are ready to do so. Some hearts long to be with Christ too much to even let a hint of wealth get in the way of themselves and their Lord. Some others though have been given financial gifts. Where we are planted, let Christ water and God sow. Our ultimate goal is to love our God and love each other. Love financially, and love physically with time and effort on the mission fields. Let God have ownership of our possessions, our riches, and our very lives. For, in this ownership, He invites us into communion with Him, and in this communion, we are set free of our things and drawn near to the God that loves us most, in the broken body of Yeshua of Nazareth.