A man approaches Jesus and asks what can I do to live forever? This guy owns land, cattle, and well, stuff. Jesus tosses him a softball responding keep the 10 commandments.
Our protagonist pushes a little more, Which ones? The sarcastic person in me would have said all of them. Instead, Jesus listed a few. The man responds great, I've already done that. What else? And this is where it gets interesting.
Jesus changed tactics. He went right for the nuclear option. Sell everything you own and give the money to poor people. The man left. Jesus returns to the people around and goes on to give the now familiar camel reference.
That was Sunday's sermon, in a brief nutshell. During the small group discussion, someone contrasted this with the story of Zaccheus. You remember him, the guy who climbed a tree so he could see Jesus passing by. Jesus stops, talks to him, and ends up eating a meal with Zaccheus.
In the course of the meal, Jesus continues teaching. Zaccheus is so moved that he tells Jesus about cheating people on their taxes. Zaccheus ends by refunding the overcharges and paying back an additional amount (3 times the overcharge). Even this amount wasn't all that Zaccheus owned. It didn't put him into poverty. And yet Jesus commends Zaccheus.
Why did Jesus tell one guy to give it all away and praise another who didn't?
Why?
As with all things, I'm absolutely sure Jesus had many reasons. And with where I am now, one in particular stood out. The rich guy asked what he could do. He negotiated with Jesus. His question really was what is the least amount I can do and still get what I want. This guy tried to set the terms on which he approached God.
Think about this for a moment. God is so big that He sees all of never ending time as a single moment. Dictates the path of the smallest particles flying through space. And brought it all into being simply by speaking. How much leverage do I have, really?
Zaccheus saw a wrong and immediately went about setting it right, as much as he could. Zaccheus asked what's right for them. The rich guy asked what does it cost me.
Now, I have to be perfectly honest here. I've struggled with myself over this point. Am I just seeing what I want to see? I'm dealing with a person in my life who keeps doing as little as possible and thinks she deserves as much as she wants. It's not a good relationship.
Given, not earned
To finish the story about the rich guy, after Jesus finishes the camel allegory, the people around Him ask wait, are we going to be poor forever? Jesus corrects this, saying no, God gives back what you give away. My crazy brain focuses on the word gives.
It's not a trade. We don't earn these things. Most importantly, we are not entitled to them. God gives them because that's who He is - generous. I want Him to want to give me those things.
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