riches and friends

Both of us over the past week of packing have realized how much we will miss all of our friends. We not only derive great joy from the jokes and companionship, but we are also truly in debt to them for their kind consideration and sacrifices on our behalf.

One thing that we have done this week is get rid of some things that we have liked to collect. The first thing is books. We gave over half our books away, with some going to friends, the church, and the Friends of the Library. Maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal, but we love us some books. The second thing we did is give away about half of our clothing. I know you're thinking "Oh, no, what will they wear?!" but we have discovered that we still have enough to wear, and even to move to China and teach in. It is very liberating to give away some of things you like the most, and still survive. It reminds us that, as Tyler Durden says, "You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f** khakis." It also reminds me of the song by Bjork called 'Hyperballad' where she talks about waking up before her lover, walking to the edge of the mountain, and throwing a bunch of useful stuff off so that she can "feel happier to be safe up here with you." It took me awhile to get that song, but it's very true. The collection of things and stuff can not only reduce our identities down to man-made things, but also segregate us from those we value the most. How simple, but how deceiving is the world.

And on top of this, the story of the rich young ruler comes in. He sees Jesus and believes that he knows the secret of eternal life, so he asks him. Rich people know how to ask pointed questions. Jesus tells him to obey the previous commandments. You would think that would be enough to catch the ruler, but no. He says that he has kept those his whole life. Then Jesus hits him with this (quoted from the story as told by Luke, ESV): "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."

I have a lot of questions about this story. By no means do I think that I have done this, or achieved this. I have only lived in a way that is relatively rich, and tried to get rid of some of my belongings. So maybe I've scratched the surface. The questions remain.

Why is the ruler to sell what he has rather than give it directly to the poor? Does the ruler own things that are not useful, like statues and such, that the poor would have no use for? Possibly. Is it so that the ruler can see the monetary worth of his things before he gives it away? Is it so that the ruler can see the faces of the poor to whom he is giving?

What would this advice be if this story happened today, to me? I mean, I think I did a decent job of taking the clothes to a place that actually sells to the poor, donating the books to support the library. Should I have sold these items and given the money directly to the poor? (Would some of them have then bought alcohol with it?) Should I have sold them and given the money to a charity? Seems like I can pretty much reason away this advice, and just be happy with what I could do.

I guess it's a good thing that Jesus described us as "justified," not so we could hold back in our attempts to emulate His character, but that we didn't have to let those attempts define us. Back to the edge of the mountain ...