It is Not what You Own; It is what Owns You

I have moaned a little over the last few weeks about the Gospels. Not today! I love this Gospel. It is one of my absolute favorites. A message is hidden; when we find it, it is pure gold. Years ago, I found it, and it freed me from tons of guilt. Since then, I have relished it and smile with soul-level peace every time I read it.

This Gospel is the story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus and tells Him he has followed all the commandments and done all that the law requires, so what more should he do to enter the Kingdom of God? Jesus responds, “Go sell all you have and give it to the poor, then come and follow me.” The story says the man went away sad because he had many possessions.

Every homily I have heard about this passage implies that the man never returned to Jesus, unwilling to give up his wealth. This may be because Jesus says how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. But thinking Jesus meant only material wealth is way too limiting. It sees the passage from only an inch deep. It is the easy answer. This passage is much more important than the easy answer.

Let’s clear something up from the start. Poverty is terrible. It is not good to sell all our possessions and give them to the poor. All that does is make one more of us poor. Eradicating poverty is the goal. It was in Jesus’ time, and it is now. This Gospel story is not meant to be an indictment of the wealthy. It is an invitation to see wealth differently. Wealth is not what we have or what we own. Wealth is what owns us. Wealth is what possesses us.

There is great hope in the passage. What Jesus was calling that good young man, too, is Kenosis. Kenosis means emptying ourselves so God has room in our souls. When God lives within us, wealth becomes a non-issue. Jesus was calling the Rich Young Man to empty himself so that he might be filled with God. That God might be his wealth. That God might be his treasure. He was a good man trying to do what God asked of him. The man had followed the commandments and done what his faith required. He believed in Jesus enough to ask what more he could do. 

The man went away sad because selling is hard. Emptying ourselves is hard. It takes time, prayer, and commitment. It takes failing and starting again. It takes holding each attitude that separates us from God, holding it up to the light, and then letting it go.

We must be emptied not of our stuff but of the attitudes that fill us, separating us from God. Stuff will take care of itself when God fills our souls. We need to stop clinging to what has become our treasure. We must let go of our pride, arrogance, the judgment of others, envy, greed, selfishness, and the like. And just as likely, we may need to release ourselves from fear, shame, guilt, a sense of worthlessness, or unworthiness. We must be drained of the attitudes that often fill our conscious and subconscious selves. These are the things we treat as wealth. They are what we cling to. We fear letting them go, usually because they possess us even more than we own them. Often, we don’t know how to survive without them. Yes, selling is hard.

Faithful obedience means standing before God empty and vulnerable and letting Him fill us with Himself. True emptiness means being willing to be changed. It is when we are ready to be God’s image in our world. This is freedom. Jesus wanted the Rich Young Man to be freed from what possessed him so he might be filled with God. 

We all should ask, “What more must I do to enter the Kingdom of God?” Get rid of what owns you, that God may have your heart. 

Jesus showed us the way to Kenosis, to empty ourselves of what owns us. Our bank accounts and “stuff” will care for themselves when God is the only treasure we cling to. 

It is okay if it is frightening or makes you sad. Selling is hard; emptying oneself is hard. But God is waiting with ultimate patience to fill you with Himself. We need only do the work of releasing that which owns us and grasp God’s hand.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen