Sunday, August 11, 2024

Why is it never preached that to "sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor" is a process?

One which cannot be done in a day's time.  Not even by a debt free, lower middle class person, in the internet age.  If i was to sell all my stuff, it would not only mean finding the right buyers, but also, in giving to the poor, means the process of finding out which charitable organizations are legit, and which aren't. Why is it never preached that a rich man, with his three villas and town home - oh, and the rental properties - probably knows very little about what it's like to be poor, and so, the rich man has his work cut out for him, in learning what poor people actually need, to be able to get free from that ever nagging, grinding bondage.

It's one thing to pass out meals, and even $20s to homeless people - standing near intersections during rush hour.  It's also one thing to provide rent free, or low rent, spaces to poor people.  And while temporary relief is better than none, there's an old saying about the difference between doling out a fish to someone, and teaching someone to fish.  Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Bible, (Matthew 25:27) a man's servant gets rebuked for burying his master's money, instead of investing it.  

Had the rich young ruler heeded Jesus's words, helping the poor would have been a process.  There are three men interested in buying one of the young ruler's villas - the one that is located way out in the sticks.  Problem is:  Buyer #1 is a known human trafficker; #2 is a drug lord, and #3?   Well his credit isn't so good.  The other problem is: the fifty-some servants, who keep up the house and acreage.  Sell the place, to a sketchy buyer?  Then where will the servants go to obtain work?  Back to LaGree's factory-farm?  Big history there, not good.  

For sure, the rich young ruler, will need to get with his lawyers, and with brokers.  Some of the latter he knows - others, not so.  In short, selling his stuff is going to take time, careful thought, and alot of research.  Oh, and the ruler inherited alot of paintings and statues - he isn't too knowledgeable about the art world, so he needs to get with brokers who are.  More time needed to make the right investment decisions.  Perhaps, one of those decisions might entail buying LaGrees' - from the proceeds from villa #2 - and turning that nasty place into a farm, where the chickens and the cows aren't stuck in squallid cages - into a place, where the animals are well tended, where the food that comes out of there, is wholesome.  And where the workers are able to get themselves out of poverty, because the new owner - the young ruler - pays decent wages.  Livable wages, the beginnings of intergenerational wealth - talk about helping poor folks!

In short, why isn't it preached, that Jesus wasn't expecting the young ruler, to have everything sold, and doled out to every bum standing on the street corner - or outside of the local bars - and, by the following Tuesday, be joyfully living under a bridge (gimmee a break!)  Oh wait, why isn't it preached, that the rich young ruler was the type of person who had never been one to blow his money on vice?  Hhmmm, anyone notice, Jesus wasn't giving this specific expectation to some guy, or gal, who'd no ability to, or means, of possessing wealth - wasn't like Jesus was lecturing at some poor schmo, who'd just came out of domestic relations court (and late on his truck payment).  

A few verses up from the passage, he told Jesus, he'd kept the commandments from youth.  In other words, we all know - from Proverbs (and even from Dave Ramsey) vice is nothing but a gigando pipeline to poverty (Proverbs 23:21) had the motivated young man, gone through the process of selling and giving away of his wealth, he'd likely of ended up in a new line of business, and perhaps would have become even wealthier.  Rich people are generally like that - not being into bling, but into investing, into work; that's why they're rich (while the rest of us are stuipdly watching netflunks, or whatever :/).  Btw, Dave Ramsey had, some decades back, experienced a real rough patch - bankruptcy; no easy feat to climb out of that.

Hear too many of these preeechers tell, we're simply supposed to just up and sell ALL our stuff, and so render our selves, our kids - and grampa - joyfully, faithfully living in some corner of an abandoned warehouse, in a sketchy neighborhood.  


"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and saith unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come take up the cross, and follow me."  Mark 10:21

"Thou oughest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with ursury." Matthew 25:27

"For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags."  Proverbs 23:21

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Dear Kathy, just seems there's so many out there who act like putting one's faith in Christ, instead of self, is an easy-peasy matter. No wonder people give up, and walk away.

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