A Reflection On Possessions

When I am tempted to cling to material things

In Jesus’ code of ethics, there is no room for a desperate attachment to possessions. He never says we can’t have them, but by example and by His teaching we learn that they are never to get in the way of our discipleship. No material possession is worth sacrificing the display of God’s kind of grace.

Things are temporary. We can be unattached to them because they offer us nothing we don’t already have. We can’t take them with us when we go, and we wouldn’t want to. They will pale in comparison to the treasures that have already been laid up for us in Christ. When a situation compels you to choose between demonstrating grace to another or maintaining your grip on your things, which do you choose? We must decide which is more important to us: a defense of our physical possessions on earth, or a demonstration of the Kingdom of God.

If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. . . . Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

Matthew 5:40, 42