Sunday, November 13, 2011

Seriously though...

So I just finished listening to a 15 minute Tirade about the miserable state of the Cleveland Browns. If you care, listen to it. If you don’t, don’t listen to it. Funny stuff.

But today, as Staci and I went to our very first Browns game, I started to feel like I wasn’t being a good steward of the money given to me. In fact, I said to a friend that I felt like I was wasting money on a game when there are people who need food and clothes. Friend told me that it was a fun thing to do that helps Staci and I bond. We had a wonderful time and I love our time together.

I think Friend and I are both right. The right thing is probably a balance of the two.

But sometimes I get all caught up in what Jesus said to the rich, young ruler. “You lack one thing; go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor…”

I am tempted at this point to say something like, “I know this world just wouldn’t work if everyone was constantly selling and giving…”

But I also don’t think Jesus kidding. In other words, maybe Jesus was serious.

So here is my question to you; what would this world look like if the Church sold everything they had and gave it to the poor? Seriously. Is it possible?

Are we too modern or contemporary or civilized to actually do that? Or are we just unwilling?

I know that not acting on convictions is just pointless… but do you really think it’s realistic?

This would be a marvelous post to comment on… hint hint hint

3 comments:

  1. I've been thinking about this for quite some time now. The more I contemplate it, the harder it is for me to chalk it up to Jesus speaking metaphorically... A very hard concept to act on...

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  2. My guess is that it was less about the selling things and more about why he was told to do so. When asked if he followed all the commandments, Christ listed all of them except the covet one. This man has a problem with coveting. He needs stuff to have an identity. What Jesus was telling the guy was, "If you want the kingdom, there's no room for your greed there."

    Maybe.

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  3. Wow. Good thought. It is probably pretty insightful what I might leave off a list of things I have done right.

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