“Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven” — Christ Jesus
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” — Matthew 19 : 16-22
We must come to understand that all legitimate abundance comes from God, and we are mere stewards of this abundance, since we have been entrusted with all of it expressly to bless others and spread the Word of God.
There is a quote I love that fits perfectly here: “When Jesus dismissed all temptation to desire personal and isolated good for himself, angels came and ministered unto Him.” — Una Willard
Christ Jesus truly laid up no earthly treasures for himself. When God told Jesus to give freely, he shared freely. When God had him give up his human occupation and sent him far away from his hometown to carry the Christ-message, and Jesus went without any human safety net, trusting fully in ever-present Love. God gave Jesus no home, and when “a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ... Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8 : 29, 21) and we can see this was not meant as a complaint, but simply was a statement of fact to let others know the practical sense of what it means to follow the Christ.
This does not mean we aren't allowed to own anything or that we need to be destitute to be “true followers.” It simply means believing we humanly have “great possessions” which we will not give up under any circumstances will cause us to be useless to God and will gain us no “treasure in heaven.” As Christ Jesus also said: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16 : 25) You can't take your old sense of love, or abundance, or morality, or knowledge, or any other human thing with you. To properly complete the daily tasks and overall mission God gives you, you need to “put off the old man with his deeds [and] put on the new man” (Colossians 3 : 9, 10) by taking possession of His thoughts 1, and His tools 2, and His judgments 3, and His mercy 4, and His Love.5 Count the rest as “dung” (Philippians 3 : 8) as Paul did of his human education.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote this of Christ Jesus: “What has this hillside priest, this seaside teacher, done for the human race? Ask, rather, what has he not done. His holy humility, unworldliness, and self-abandonment wrought infinite results. The method of his religion was not too simple to be sublime, nor was his power so exalted as to be unavailable for the needs of suffering mortals, whose wounds he healed by Truth and Love.” (Ret., pp. 91-92)
Let us strive to show forth that “holy humility, unworldliness, and self-abandonment” in our own lives!
1 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Philippians 2 : 5)
2 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” (James 2 : 18)
3 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” (John 7 : 24)
4 “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12 : 7)
5 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (I John 4 : 8