"Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back." - Luke 6:30
You know, it's verses like this that make people think Jesus was kidding with the Sermon on the Mount (or Luke's version on the plain). Or if not kidding, at least trying to drive us to despair at our lack of perfection so we turn to God for salvation.
But I think Jesus means it. He wants us not to care about what happens to our stuff. In fact, he told several people to give away all their stuff.
This is very hard. I have spent a lot of time, effort, energy, and money in accumulating my stuff. I would like very much for it to remain mine. Except for this:
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21
What would I have spent my time, effort, energy, and money on if I hadn't spent it on my stuff? What could I spend my time, effort, energy, and money on if I don't spend it on the long list of stuff I still want?
"Jesus Christ - Messing With People's Stuff since A.D. 30"
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3 comments:
does this mean you and your dad should not have hounded me for 2 years to give you back those 10 nes games i had of yours?
-alex
I suppose you could interpret it that way...
Or maybe it means you should give me one of your video cameras...
We spend the first half of life trying to accumulate "stuff." The second half of life we try to "downsize." All it takes is a move late in life and we find that we HAVE to "Count your many blessings & name them one by one" as you pack. OR-- Have the depressing job of going through the many blessings accumulated by a deceased parent. We spend much too much time with the laying up and taking care of treasures on earth. Maybe that verse was Jesus' way of telling us to declutter and organize our lives.
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