Photo Credit: Flickr user Katie@! (CC)

The following comment was posted on an older post I wrote about wealth and living simply.  You can read that post here: The Myth of Wealth.

I really appreciated this comment and wanted to highlight it for others to read as well.  Ironically, I met together with a group of believers this weekend to share a meal and the Lord’s Supper together and this topic came up.  Two of the families that were there are in the process of selling just about all of their possessions to follow Christ in some new and exciting ways.  Both families will need to be flexible and mobile to follow Christ, and we shared together about the freedom of becoming less attached to the things of this world.

I have found that owning less makes me more available to Christ because those things no longer have any stronghold in my heart. I also learn to not place my trust in possessions.

Jesus wants our trust to be in Him.  Not that there is anything wrong with owning things; the crucial factor is whether or not these things take the place in our hearts above Christ Himself.  I would rather have Christ and nothing else than to have everything and no Christ.

Here’s the comment:

Thank you for this, Mark. Christ is infinitely more desirable than all the “things” one can try to acquire. Though it’s hard most days, I’m grateful that He is the only “wealth” I have. I’ve learned to live without a lot of things. My necessities are the bare necessities.

It may sound strange, but it really is a blessed life. It’s not better or somehow glamorous compared to having more income. I’m blessed not because Christ is all I have, but because He’s become all I WANT. Sure, I’d love to have an apartment that’s not in somebody’s basement, and a little extra to save for a rainy day, but I don’t, and somehow that’s ok. I want “inward mobility” – growing deeper into Christ, and Him into me. He is my one Treasure.

All that said, it’s really frustrating being around Christians who have much more than they need, and are blind to the poverty around them, especially that of their own brothers and sisters. I’m in a small group at a traditional church with some really sweet people, but none of them know any lack. They make sure the tithes get in (so God will continue to bless them) but they don’t share what they have. It’s very sad. Why would the poor want to join a church and follow a “Jesus” who doesn’t care about their need, where no one ever asks if they’re alright?

– Amanda
– Amanda’s Blog (All and In All)

Follow the Life!

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