Giving Generously
Do you know the story in our gospels of Jesus’ encounter with the rich man (or rich young ruler)? It can be found in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18. The man asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, but when asked to sell his possessions to follow Jesus, he goes away sad because he is very wealthy. Bishop Julie reflects.
I can never quite work out what was going on in the heart of the young man as he came to Jesus. Was he feeling confident – expecting to be publicly praised because he obeyed all the commandments? Or did he come in a genuine state of puzzlement, wondering why despite his piety he still felt dissatisfied and anxious?
Whatever his motivation, he cannot have imagined the conversation would take the turn that it did. Jesus told him,
‘Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
Jesus looked into the young man’s soul and diagnosed that while to all appearances he was doing all the right things, his possessions and riches were a real problem.
That the rich young man went away grieving, because he had many possessions, makes for a sorry tale. But Jesus then ramps things up further by proceeding to say some disturbing things about wealth - words that astounded and horrified his disciples and that still make me feel very uncomfortable. For, let’s face it, any of us living above the poverty line in Britain are, in a world context, extremely rich and therefore when Jesus says “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” I can’t help but feel that I have cause for concern.
It seems to me that our gospels really do reveal that God cares about what we do with our money. First and foremost, because how we spend our money has a great impact on the welfare of our neighbour. Notice that Jesus doesn’t just tell the man simply to give his wealth away but rather tells him to give it to the poor.
I also think that God cares about what we do with our resources because how we spend our money, and indeed our time, has a great impact on our own welfare. I read once that this account of the rich young man coming to Jesus could be understood as a healing. He came to Jesus because he knew there was something wrong. He’d kept all the commandments and yet he still experienced a certain dis-ease. So, Jesus’ response - harsh though it sounds - was born out of love. He was moved to compassion by the plight of a man trapped by wealth and possessions, just as he was by those who begged him for physical healing.
Jesus knows that there are few things more important for us to do than to share what we have. Each time we share with others we are blessed as much as the recipient of our care. Yet despite this we all too often act like having more and more possessions or building larger bank balances will make us happy. We live in a culture that bombards us with the seductive and false message that money is the answer to our problems. This puts enormous pressure on us. It also distorts our thinking and can dictate that we spend the whole of our lives chasing after something that is ultimately unfulfilling and leaves us feeling empty, anxious and bewildered.
So, what can we do?
First, we need to learn to practise our faith in everyday life. To let it influence our household budgeting, our employment decisions, how we spend any spare time that we have, how we conduct our relationships with others, the purchases we make, the lifestyle we lead, the legacies we leave. Stewardship of our money, our gifts and our talents isn’t about giving to God what’s left over at the end of the week – it is about involving God in decisions about what we do with everything we have.
And secondly, the rich man grieved because he could not part with his possessions. So often we are fearful of depending on God and so, if we can, we shore ourselves up with secure income, savings and possessions. I believe that we struggle with an imagination that is dominated by a sense of scarcity instead of trusting in an amazingly generous God. If we could focus instead on the blessings of God all around us, then perhaps we would feel more secure in God’s love for us and more certain of God’s provision for us. So, regularly call to mind your blessings and give thanks for them. Take time each day to name a blessing and give thanks in prayer. The God for whom nothing is impossible has showered each of us with so many gifts, and giving thanks for them can be a powerful way to live into God’s abundance.
The story of the rich young man is both incredibly challenging and incredibly liberating – I urge you to let it change your lives because then it will change our church and our communities.
Bishop Julie
Illustration of ‘Giving Generously’ article by: Alison Solano, story-teller Christian mission and Faith through digital art.
Alison’s creative interpretation; “Jesus points towards the abundance of heaven, while the rich young ruler remains fixed on the few coins before him. Bound by a chain of wealth, he struggles to see the greater treasure being offered.
“A dark thread links Christ to the ruler’s troubled heart, revealing Jesus’ compassion for the deeper longing beneath his possessions. The contrast between the radiant sky and the shadows around the young man reflects the choice between earthly security and the freedom found in God.”