Punctum Saliens

(No, this is not a post about drinking songs.)

Most of you, I’m sure, know the story of the rich young ruler who wanted eternal life and Jesus told him to sell all that he possessed. It was in his comments to his disciples after the young man left where he makes his camel and the eye of the needle remark. So, I’m sure most of you know the story but what do you do with it?

I was asking myself this very question while reading Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton (it’s actually a translation by Merton of things ancient hermits said). These hermits gave up everything to go out into the desert and try to find God. What really got me thinking about this was reading how these hermits considered themselves unworthy sinners after years and years and years of searching and fasting and praying. The spiritual practice I do is absolutely nothing in comparison so is there any hope for me? Any at all?

So, I started asking myself: is Jesus really asking me — nay, telling me — to sell everything I own? How rich is “rich” — how rich must I be before it gets in the way? I think a sense of what Jesus was saying is found in the disciples’ reaction to his camel comment. “They were even more astonished and said to Him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ ” They didn’t breath a sigh of relief at this comment and thank their lucky stars they weren’t rich. They wondered who — including themselves — could be saved. I think this because Peter then starts defending the disciples by pointing out the painfully obvious fact that they had left everything for Jesus. Of course Jesus knew this so why did it need to be said?

So, again, I’m asking myself: Do I need to leave everything in order to follow Jesus? Of course, no self-respecting pastor is going to urge his congregation to leave everything for Jesus. No way, no how. If they did, who would pay for refinishing the hardwood floors in the sanctuary and the upkeep on the beautiful stained glass and the organ tuning and his salary! Don’t forget his salary! No. The pastor is going to talk about “attachment” to things or “letting money rule your life” or “tithing” or “coveting” or some other lousy rationalization.

The way I see it, owning something is no different than being attached to it or having it rule over you. I cannot own a car and not be attached to it. If I were not attached, I would not lock it. I would have the absolute minimum possible amount of insurance that still kept me in compliance with state laws. I’d let any of my friends drive it. I’d let my friends’ kids eat ice cream in the back seat. I’d offer to help all my friends use my car to move.

I cannot own a house and not be attached to it. If I were not attached, I would not lock it. I would not have an alarm system. I would have the absolute minimum possible amount of insurance that allowed me to get a mortgage. Scratch that. I would have a house that I could buy outright so that my mortgage payment never troubled me or kept me from tithing and giving the rest of what I owned to the poor and needy. So, I would basically be living in a shack which I probably would not be that attached to.

And what about my family? Jesus talks about leaving family to follow him. Surely he meant that I “leave” my daughter once she is grown and out of the house, right? He can’t possibly be talking about leaving her now when she is 14 months old!! Can he?

I just don’t know. What I do know is that you can think what you want about Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler but as for me, I know I’m attached to my family and to my things. I’ve got financial commitments and I make financial decisions that do not leave a whole lot left over for giving. I make decisions about what I do and when I do it that do not leave a whole lot of time for spiritual practice. And I’m not sure, yet, what it all means and what I’m supposed to do or what I will end up doing about it. But I am sure that these questions will be on my mind.

And as I write this, I feel that this is very inadequate — both my expression of my thoughts and what I’m going to do about it. “These questions will be on my mind.” What the hell does that mean? It’s meaningless. Less than meaningless. But the seed is there. I just need to let it grow. And that, itself, is trite and stupid but I cannot express it otherwise.

In my posts No Christian should have a bank account or an IRA and Blogger Solves World Problems. Details at 11:00, was I exaggerating? I think that if you literally do what Jesus preached (and I mean literally as in the Bible is literally true and is literally the fully inspired, inerrant word of God and the Bible is literally absolute truth) then no, those were not exaggerations. But given how we interpret the Bible today (see my post The Bible and Society — which conforms to which?) I doubt we should be expected to take anything Jesus said as literally applying to us today since we are so far removed from the social situation of his time. But I would like you to think about a few things in light of Jesus’ generic commands of loving one another, helping one another, yada yada yada.

• Should there be multi-millionare Christians? Is being a a plain old millionare not enough? Think about how much good those millions would do in the name of Jesus.
• Should a Christian sock away 15% pre-tax in a 401(k) yet only tithe 10% (and often much less) post-tax?
• Should a Christian drive the top of the line Mecedes sedan? The E-Class is pretty darn nice and think about how much good those tens of thousands of dollars would do in the name of Jesus.
• Should a Christian have a basement full of stuff and a Public Storage space and a PODS full of stuff gathering moths and rust? Imagine if you sold everything you didn’t use or, better yet, didn’t buy it in the first place?
• Should Christians take six-figure vacations or have six-figure weddings? Are they really necessary?
• Should Christians work 60-70 hours a week and not have time to spend with his/her family let alone give of their time for others?

This is a follow-up to my recent post No Christian should have a bank account or an IRA.

I started thinking about this and doing a little research and with the help of my trusty HP 15C calculator (which I swear is running on the same batteries since 1982) I’ve figured out the solution to all the world’s problems. Well, at least the monetary, hunger, and poverty problems.

The solution is … drum roll, please …

Do what Jesus tells you to do!

Imagine my surprise at the simplicity of it all. I mean, Christians are supposed to follow Jesus’ teachings, right? I mean that’s pretty much what the whole religion is based on, right? So, if Christians would just do what they are supposed to be doing in the first place then the world would be so much better. You can’t get any simpler than that. No extra work on anyone’s part. You gotta hand it to ol’ Jesus Christ. For being an uneducated carpenter he had a lot of foresight.

So, while I’m waiting for the Nobel Peace Prize commission to review my application and cut my check I’ll let you in on the details of the solution. Now admittedly, the numbers are approximate and some of my figures are a few years old but I do have other things to do than solve the world’s problems to the 17th decimal place and, in any case, you’ll see that it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. So, here goes …

There are roughly 300 million people in the U.S. of which roughly 80% (or 240 million) are Christians. The average disposable income per capita in the U.S. is around $30,000. Now, the average disposable income is defined as “the income available to persons for spending or saving.” If you’re spending this disposable income it’s on things and according to Matthew 6:19 you are not supposed to do this:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal [Jesus Christ]

If you’re saving this disposable income it’s “for a rainy day” and according to Matthew 6:34 you are not supposed to do this either:

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself [Jesus Christ]

And this is the real key to my solution and what makes it so attractive. Christians can solve the world’s problems without selling everything they own or leaving their family to join a convent or shaving their heads and taking vows of celibacy or anything as unpleasant as that. All they have to do is stop buying things and stop saving for retirement. But, as Jesus said, you don’t need to do those things anyway because He will take care of you.

OK, you say. Nice thought but what’s the bottom line?

Here it is … if every Christian really lived by Jesus’ teachings then Christians (and I’m only talking the Christians in the United States) would have $7,000,000,000,000 to help the world. That’s 7 trillion dollars! That’s 7 trillion dollars a year!

What could we do with $7 trillion a year? Let’s see …

• The national debt is around $8.7 trillion so in one year and about 3 months the country would be out of debt.
• To sponsor a child through Plan USA costs $24/month or $288/year. For $7 trillion, Christians could sponsor 20 billion children every year which basically means they could sponsor every single child on earth with a whole lot left over!
• There would be enough left over, in fact, for Christians to foot the bill so the U.S. could abide by the Kyoto Protocol and finally do something about all the pollution we create.

That would be an awesome start. Don’t you agree? And it costs so little! I’ll even kick in half of my Nobel Peace Prize award to get things started. OK?

First of all, look at Matthew 6:

19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21. for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

These are words spoken by Jesus. So, Christians should not have bank accounts or stock portfolios or IRAs or money under the mattress for these are all “treasures upon earth.”

“But,” you say. “But what will we eat? What will we wear? How will we afford to live during retirement? How will we provide for our families?”

Well, Jesus addresses some of these very questions. Look a few verses later…

25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29. and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Jesus’ answer to all our worries is “take no thought for the morrow!” I guess the original “Don’t worry; be happy.” He claims that if He takes care of the birds and the flowers and if you are so much more than the birds and the flowers that He will take care of you. Pretty radical, huh?

I mean, just imagine, having faith. Faith in an all-powerful, all-knowing, loving God capable of creating the entire world by simply speaking! Why do we think we need to help out God by balancing our portfolios and working our asses off 50 and 60 hours a week to bring home the bacon? God says that He will take care of us. He knows that we need to eat and drink and have clothing (see verse 32) and He will provide.

This is directly from Jesus. He is telling us how to live our lives. Christians are supposed to be like Jesus and do what He tells us to do. Why do so many simply ignore Jesus’ direct words? I’ve heard pastors and teachers talk about these verses but they always talk about getting through “rough times”, there’s a “light at the end of the tunnel.” When you’re out of work, take heart. God will provide. But I don’t read it this way. Jesus is not talking about times “between jobs.” He’s talking everyday.

What’s more, the early church believed this and acted on it! Look at Acts 2:

44. And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45. and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

They seemed to really believe what Jesus said about riches in Matthew 19:21

If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Jesus spoke these words to a young man who had kept all of God’s laws since he was a child. And don’t forget the camel and the eye of a needle comment Jesus makes.

Jesus was poor. His followers were poor. His early church sold possessions and land and gave the money freely to anyone who needed it. But so many in the church today, Christians of today, don’t seem to be listening to Jesus’ words anymore. They are worried about tomorrow and believing what Jesus said. They are basically calling Jesus a liar or not powerful enough to follow through on what He said.

That’s a pretty weak God they want the rest of the world to believe in.