Shattering Substitutes #6: Stuff

“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”—Mark 10:21-22

Stuff. We have it. Our houses are full of it. And strange as it seems, we still want more of it. We have more stuff than any other country in the world, and somehow, even in the midst of all of our abundance, we still want more.

Are you addicted to your stuff? What if God asked you to sell every single item you had and then take the money you made and give it to the poor? What would you say to that? I think most of us like the idea of showing our love for Jesus by selling everything we have, but when it comes to actually doing it…well, that is another question entirely.

There is a Bible story about a man who had a lot of stuff. He is known as the rich young ruler. He came running up to Jesus one day, kneeling on the ground in front of Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He certainly was an earnest and zealous young man. He showed zeal and reverence for the Savior. There was no need of convincing him that Jesus was the Messiah…or was there? Jesus’ response is a bit cryptic. He says,

"Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother'"—Mark 10:18-19.

His question was meant to challenge the young man’s words. When Jesus asked him why he called Him good and then followed it with “No one is good except God alone,” He meant to awaken the young man to the reality that He was in fact God.

After Jesus lists the necessity of observing the commands, the young man professes to be blameless. It was then that Jesus looked at him and loved him. He saw the young man’s zeal, his sincerity and piety, but there was one thing that his heart was holding on to. Rather than quote one of the commandments, Jesus chose a less direct path. He laid down the cost of discipleship while at the same time revealing the mammoth roadblock in the young man’s way. He said, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me"—Mark 10:21. It was then we read the young man’s tragic choice, “Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions”—Mark 10:22.

The rich young ruler loved his stuff more than he loved the Savior. And many of us, if we’re honest, would have done the same thing. We have the luxury in our own day and age to interpret it away, saying that it’s not necessary for everyone to sell their stuff and follow Jesus—and that is true. But we have made it so that no one is to sell their stuff and follow Him, which is not true. I believe that Jesus is calling many of us to do exactly that, sell all of our stuff, give it to the poor and follow Him. And for those of us to whom it doesn’t directly apply, we can see the principle—Jesus wants our heart, all of it. He doesn’t want anything to get in the way. If we substitute our stuff for the Savior, then it must be shattered. We must shatter the idol of stuff. For some of us, it means selling it all; for others it means giving some of it, if not most of it, away. It would do us all good to purge our closets and storage bins. We have far more stuff than we will ever need, and it would do us all good to go through our things and give to others who are truly in need.

How is your heart? Are you sold out for the Savior? What is the one thing that Jesus would ask you to give up in order to follow Him? Is it your stuff or is it something else? If Jesus is calling you to give something up, don’t wait around, do it today. If it’s not immediate obedience, it’s disobedience.

Father, help me to follow You with a whole heart. Reveal anything that is keeping me from following You. May I have the courage to sell it, shatter it, or simply forsake it. Allow me to be courageous in following You. And may my step of faith be a challenge for others to follow in my footsteps as I seek and follow after You. Amen.