Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3 (ESV) I'm rich.
That may sound immodest or even somewhat untruthful ("c'mon, Clifton, you drive a Toyota Camry and live in a house built in the 70s with numerous electrical issues and a basement that floods when it rains!" you might respond), but it's true. I look around this room, right at this moment, and I see four guitars on the wall, three amplifiers, a keyboard, two bookcases sagging with books, and three laptops and a desktop computer in addition to the one I'm typing on. There are drawers full of gadgets and gizmos collecting dust. There are shelves and stacks of music, movies, and games. And that's just the office. And one moment yesterday, while studying on the story of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30), I came to a rather ugly and convicting realization: that person is me. It's not because I'm the wealthiest person in America. Indeed, most of the stuff I just mentioned was either acquired cheaply or secondhand. Three of my guitars were made in China. Two of those computers are over five years old and were bought at rock-bottom prices when new. Many of the movies and books were bought on clearance or used. I know many people who have much more money than I do, and what I have was acquired with money left over after my wonderful wife (who is infinitely better with handling finances than I am) has calculated and appropriated all of our monthly expenditures, including both giving and saving. But in comparison to the world, I certainly cannot make the argument that I am poor. In fact, a large majority of the world's population would see me as filthy rich. I have no idea what it's like to live without electricity, clean and running water, or go without food and shelter. Hundreds of millions (and possibly billions) of people live like this each day, every day of their lives. Yet, I barely know what to do with myself when the internet goes down. Jesus commanded the rich young ruler, after inquiring how to inherit eternal life, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:22b, ESV). The instructions here are not to sell possessions to inherit eternal life, but to follow Christ. Jesus only wanted the rich man to purge himself of the inherent distraction of riches so that his heart could be fully set on following Him. He knew the man wanted to hold onto his wealth more than he wanted to taste spiritual restoration and guidance. Indeed, the Scriptures say that "he became very sad, for he was extremely rich." (Luke 18:23b, ESV) The problem here is not necessarily possessing things. The problem is prioritizing things over following Christ. If I were in the correct, Spirit-led mindset, I would see all these things I own, be thankful to God for them, but follow Him regardless of what it might cost me. As the book of Job eloquently states, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21b, ESV). Money, and the things money can buy, are not guaranteed to us in this lifetime. They are temporary; impermanent. It is a blessing to have plenty, but it is no less a blessing to suffer lack - while the former is infinitely more desirable and pleasurable than the latter, we can easily fall prey to "greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5, NIV) if we fail to have the right heart attitude towards God when we experience plenty. Sadly, like many fellow Americans, I tend to place my hope in things and can "become very sad" when I find myself needing to give up things to instead focus on following Christ. I'm not going to suggest that I or anyone else pray that God strip us of all material blessings and leave us with nothing. Sudden and abject humiliation would do nothing to feed the hungry or clothe the impoverished or spread the good news of Christ to the world. I'm also not going to suggest that every Christian go and sell every last belonging they own so they can move to a poverty-stricken nation and live among them (though that may, in fact, one day be your calling or my own). What I am going to suggest is that we carefully analyze the things we spend time thinking about, talking about, doing, and spending our money on. Are these things our idols? Do we place them ahead of God? How would we respond if God were to suddenly remove these things from our lives? Would we be willing to give these things up if God were to require it of us for His service? Would we respond with anger and sadness? Or would we be at peace and have joy in our hearts knowing that we can serve Christ both in plenty and in need? If a fellow believer, wanting to serve in some capacity, needed a computer, would I be willing to give them my own out of my excess? If a family suffered genuine need for money to put food on the table, would I be willing to sell off a guitar or two to assist them? And if God revealed to me that His plan was to move me and my wife far away from these things to serve in a totally different capacity than I do now, would I be willing to leave it all behind, boldly trusting that I will find true pleasure in serving Christ? Would I, too, be "poor in spirit," seeking out every opportunity to build the eternal Kingdom of God at any personal cost to me? Jesus says in Matthew 6: 19-21 (ESV): "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jesus was asking the rich young ruler to give up what he valued above all - the treasure of this earth - in order to experience the lasting, eternal value of following Christ - the treasure of heaven. It was required of him that day to let go of all the materialistic things that he held dear so that his heart would be adequately prepared to fully follow Christ. It may be required of us someday, too - let us have hearts that are not burdened by the weight of things but are overjoyed at the opportunity to exercise faith when serving God. Pray that God would remove the psychological and emotional distractions of earthly things from our spiritual journey so that we can better follow Him. Be thankful for the many material blessings He has so richly provided to us, and pray that we never forget that they are temporary gifts given by an eternal, sovereign God. Pray that fully following Christ would be our highest priority by far and the ultimate source of our joy and happiness in this life. As Paul wrote in Phillipians 3:7-8a (ESV), "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Pray most of all that we would value following and serving Christ above all else that this world has to offer.
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Clifton J. Gardner lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, Courtney. He is a Registered Nurse, musician, and writer, as well as an active member of Ezra Baptist Church in Oak Grove, Alabama. Archives
January 2017
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