I am beginning to realize that consumerism is a sin. Before you say “Woah, don’t you think that’s a little extreme!?” and close out of this page, hear me out.
I’ve been reading my Bible lately. No, this is not new…but I have been reading “old” familiar passages that are hitting me afresh. Like this one:
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
– Luke 12:32-34
And when I reached the end of the passage, I tried to apply the neat little interpretation and application that I have been taught applies to that passage. And I found it was like trying to stick a round peg into a square hole – it didn’t work. Time and again, I am finding my comfortable scripture applications clattering to the floor.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
Have you ever thought, “I would love to support that missionary, it’s just that finances are really tight right now”?
Why in the past have I read that passage and glossed over it, thinking “Oh, that is for people who are really rich and whose value and entire existence is caught up in owning things instead of the things that really matter.”
WAIT.
I own at least seven different types of cookware, multiple specialty kitchen gadgets, dozens of differently shaped and sized bowls, cups, mugs, tea cups, plasticware and plates. I have a myriad of beautifully colored pieces of cloth, all designated for different purposes – kitchen towels, bath towels, baby towels, toddler towels, burp cloths, blankets, fleece throws, car seat blankets, crib blankets, duvets, bedsheets, tablecloths, curtains, cloth napkins – the list is endless!! I have short sleeve shirts, three-quarter sleeve shirts, longsleeve shirts, sweatshirts, dress shirts, running shirts, not to mention all of my skirts, dresses, pants, shorts, and capris! There’s constantly a flood of toys tumbling onto our living room floor and with our refrigerator/freezer, upright freezer, pantry, and every space/herb you could imagine, we practically have our own personal grocery store at our fingertips. I live in a house with ten rooms, one of which was created solely to house one of our two gleaming, self propelling “chariots.” Much, even most, of my time is spent washing, drying, folding, organizing and putting away said-clothing, washing, drying and putting away said-dishes, as well as sweeping and scrubbing the many rooms we live in and attempting over and over again to organize my junk into beauty. And I keep failing.
If I am not “the rich” that Jesus was talking to, then who is? Oh sure, there are people who ARE way wealthier than my family and me – but that does not make me poor. The poor are those who hardly have clothing on their backs, who have a sagging roof over their heads, whose bellies grumble because their pantries are bare, and whose bodies are sick because they can’t even access clean water. The poor are the ones who feel like they have to sell their bodies or their children just to get enough to eat.
I am not poor.
I am rich.
Jesus was talking to me.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
And suddenly it hit me. Jesus was not giving two separate commands: 1) Sell your possessions 2) Give to the poor. He was telling us how. Sell your possessions so that you can give to the poor. I may not be a millionaire, but I have a whole lot of wealth tied up in my STUFF.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
Maybe, just maybe, Jesus actually meant that. Literally. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Why don’t we take Jesus literally??
I am being challenged to re-think my selfish, consumerism mindset. When my body constantly takes in food and does not expel it, I am constipated and my body is not in a healthy state. When my body is constipated, I cannot even enjoy taking in food. Does the same not go for our homes? When our homes are constantly taking in stuff and not expelling stuff (giving it away), our homes become constipated and unhealthy. And just like my body, my constipated home cannot even enjoy the stuff it is trying to take in.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
What if I did? What if I sold all my excess possessions?
Maybe then I would actually have the extra finances to support that missionary…
mosaicsoftheheart 