Jesus was a Homeless Rich Man

Did you know Jesus and his disciples chose to stay homeless?

You know, while we were house hunting for the first time, my faith muscle got a workout. I had been putting off buying a house for 3 ½ years - mainly because we’re learning to save and felt God wanted us to live light & simple –something I didn’t have experience in, unfortunately. Lots of folks have opinions about when/why/how in the house-buying arena, particularly b/c SO many are building tremendous wealth in this real estate boom.

One morning I was struggling b/c God was trying to get my attention and teach me something.

Out of desperation I asked him for guidance and I think he gave me an answer. As I kept asking God "What?" I looked down and realized I accidentally (more divinely) grabbed a book on the way out and stuck it in my bag. It was Bonhoeffer's “Cost of Discipleship”. So, I picked it up and noticed he had an entire section on how to live & use our money. I was awestruck. And so I decided that no matter what house we buy we’ve got to live like this.

Here are the notes I took from it: (Keep in mind – unedited notes between God and I always carry an extra dosage of boldness, bluntness and rambling. And any of you who know Bonhoeffer understand his passionate words)

We I think this home could be used to take my allegiance from where my heart is supposed to be – in Jesus Christ alone. I can’t let that happen as a love for myself, and protection from temptation that I might give into. No possession should stand in the way of my love and focus on Him. Worry twists the mind which puts a tremendous hinder on my heart. This home could become a possession I don’t need to store up. Even though it brings a great potential in equity, it will cause my heart to set on an accumulation of wealth, which is a wall between the Father and I. Where my treasure is, my heart is, Jesus said. A treasure includes anything my heart is set on. Intentions. People. Things. Anything! It becomes a treasure if it stands in the way of complete obedience. For me, that’s living by pure and complete guidance as he leads me each day. Anything that can cause worry should be avoided because worry saps our relationship with God. Bonhoeffer says it “dethrones God” and “puts ourselves in His place.” He wants us to be led by Him and Him alone. He wants to take care of us – to protect us. We try to help God and when we do we are saying don’t need Him. He wants to be needed. We should dare not try to get ahead of Him, nor stay behind Him, rather just walk with Him.

Bonhoeffer said, “Jesus does not prohibit possessing material goods, but they are to be used, not collected…the Christian must rely on God every day.” “When we store up our possessions, we not only spoil the gift but ourselves as well. When the heart is set on the accumulation of wealth, a clear barrier is put between the believer and God.”

How can I teach others to intensely focus on Christ while I am even remotely focusing on trying to accumulate wealth and live a misperceived more abundant life? Is an abundant life found anywhere besides our Lord? Now, there is nothing wrong with wealth or possessions, but the motive behind having them is essential. Are we using our possessions or collecting them for our own use?

“Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety…when we seek for security in possessions we are trying to drive our care with care…the way to misuse our possessions is to use them as an insurance against the morrow…the only way to win insurance is by leaving tomorrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from him all we need for today” Bonhoeffer said.

Don't Forget: Jesus and his disciples chose and stayed homeless, but they knew they were accumulating wealth that would last forever.

Tomorrow I want to touch on the area of raising your personal support team, and what the Bible has to say about it. You’ll be blown away. I was.