My son and I were driving to school when he found a forgotten fidget spinner wedged between the car seats. As he pulled the spinner out, a great smile came across his face. He reminiscently spun it between his fingers and said, “I remember these.” He went on to recount how desperately he had wanted the spinner. When he was in elementary school they were the hot item and an important part of the schoolyard social order. We then went over all the “must have” kid items that had come and gone in the last five years. At the time, each item seemed utterly indispensable to life and happiness but then faded into obscurity.
After I dropped off my son, I began applying the same examination to the things that seem essential to my life: from small goods like a morning cup of coffee or a phone, to bigger things like a car, house, and retirement savings. It was easy for me to see how futile my son’s desires were and humbling to see how my desires were no different. Despite the momentary good of these items, in time they also will mean nothing. They have no eternal significance, and even in this life they provide no guarantee.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus challenges a young man to sell his possessions. This man had lived a virtuous life, yet he was “lacking in one thing” (Mk 10:21). When he learned he needed to break free from his possessions, he left Jesus distraught because his possessions possessed him.
The allure of material goods is not as simple as a primitive need to have a shiny object. The real danger is that we imbue possessions with power that they do not really have. In them, we seek security, control, and personal value. Yet, our personal value, hopes, security, and future are only realized in God. Jesus tells the disciples, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” This is not because being rich is inherently evil. It is because wealth allows us to erroneously place our trust in something other than God.
This tendency in fallen humanity is so great we must constantly guard our hearts against it. In His love, Jesus provides the remedy to the young man. First, He tells the young man to sell his possessions. This is akin to Jesus’s teaching in the chapter before. Jesus figuratively said it would be better to cut off your hand, foot, or eye than have them lead you to hell (see Mk 9). So too, if your possessions are leading you away from God, you must separate yourself from their influence. Second, by telling him to give the money to the poor, Jesus offers him the means to turn an ephemeral good into an eternal one. In giving to the poor, we become agents of God’s love, acting as His hands and feet in the lives of those who need His care most (see Mt 25).
As with many of Jesus’ teachings, this is hard. We may recognize and dislike the hold our possession have over us yet lack the ability to completely trust God. Scripture encourages us to turn to God for strength. We are assured that if we ask God for “prudence” and “wisdom,” He will provide (Wis 7:7-11, Jas. 1:5).
Jesus is not encouraging us to be reckless with our life or the gifts He has entrusted to us. However, we cannot hoard them to ourselves nor deify them as the source of our good. All that we have is a gift from God which finds its perfection in His service. When we come before Jesus, we do not want to find that our attachment to earthly possessions has deprived us of His eternal treasure.
