Possessions and Hyperbole

A few years ago I wrote a series on "Hard Sayings", including one on Jesus's words, "Sell all your possessions." That one recently sparked some discussion about how I was being hypocritical in my interpretation of the very clear words of Jesus and, if I were to be consistent, I'd need to sell all my possessions, and it was only my refusal to do that that made me read it as something else. Fine. Then, a local Christian radio talk show brought up the very same discussion this last week. Is it required of Christians to sell their possessions? Are we, if we are to be Christians or, at least, good Christians, required to be in poverty? The question comes from these types of passages and the frequency at which they are offered. Could it be that Christians in America are skipping directly over the very clear demand of Scripture that we should be in poverty simply because we don't want to be? I believe it is worth examining.

Is it possible that we are skipping over the very clear words of Scripture because we don't want to do it? Absolutely! And you ought to determine whether or not you fall in that category. Very important!

Moving on (for those of you who determine "No, I don't think I fall in that category"), this discussion ties in with some of the recent discussions regarding Hebrews 6 where the author of Hebrews claims that it is impossible to renew someone to repentance if they reject it. I held that it was intended as written. Others claimed it was hyperbole. I see nothing in the passage that calls for hyperbole. So, what about this passage: "Sell all your possessions"?

Here's my problem with taking that at face value. It presents insurmountable problems. We know, for instance, that Jesus owned a very particular garment, you know, the one that they gambled for when He was being crucified. It was something He owned. He didn't sell it. So, apparently Jesus didn't sell all His possessions. And it wasn't just Him. Peter owned a house. Paul was a tentmaker and apparently owned the tools and materials necessary to make tents. In one instance, Jesus told His disciples to acquire things for a missionary journey. Jesus never told His fishermen disciples to sell their boats. In other words, if "Sell all your possessions" was to be the Christian mandate, it was sure ignored by Jesus and His prime followers. Clearly, then, at least the "all" in this phrase isn't meant to mean "actually all". That is, no human being can survive on this planet without possessing something, if only clothes and food.

Okay, so maybe "all" doesn't actually mean "all" in this instance. Maybe that was hyperbole. But surely it seems that the purpose of that hyperbole was to convey that we should be in poverty, right? Sure, sure, own those bottom-line basics, but you cannot justify any Christian being rich, can you? (And, face it, folks, there isn't a "poor" Christian in America compared with the rest of the world.)

Well, the thing that really spurred this post was what I read just the other day in Paul's epistle to Timothy.

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life (1 Tim 6:17-19).

Do you see the problem? If the biblical standard for Christians, as suggested by Jesus's words to the rich young ruler and His repeated comments about "Sell all your possessions", is poverty, then Paul really made a royal mess of this passage, didn't he? He leaves some unnecessarily complicated instructions here regarding "the rich in this present age" (as opposed to those who are rich in heavenly ways). Don't be haughty. Don't set their hopes on riches. Do good. Be rich in good works. Yada, yada, yada. Paul, Paul, hang on here. This is much easier than all that. Just tell them, "Sell it all" and the whole thing goes away. Sheesh! It's not that hard!

No, Paul did not tell them to sell it all. He told them to do good, to not rely on their riches, and to be ready to share. He told them to have an "other-world" perspective, not holding onto the things of this world, but using them as God supplies for good.

I understood Jesus's words, "Sell all your possessions", to mean "Don't make your possessions your god." I understood Him to mean "Don't possess anything. Be willing to give it all up." I understood Him to say, "Don't own anything; it is all to be tools for God's use." I understood Jesus's words to mean essentially what Paul told Timothy about the rich. I understood it to be hyperbole. I understood it to be hyperbole based on the contradictions to what He and His disciples did. I understood it to be hyperbole based on passages like this 1 Timothy one that did not mandate that the rich become poor. I did not see it as hyperbole because I'm unwilling to be poor; it was the texts that drove me to it.