At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mark 10:22)
Hearing Jesus’ command to give up his goods and follow him, the rich man went away sadly, because he had great wealth. To slightly change the content of the story, if a man with a little wealth hears the same command of Jesus would he follow him with a joyful heart? In my point of view, such possibility is very less. Basically there is no much difference between the difficulty faced by a rich man in renouncing his wealth and the difficulty faced by a poor man in renouncing his little wealth. Whether it is great or small man is bound to be ruled by the goods.
Gripped by materialism we perpetually worry for uncertainties of life. Most people are affected by the wave of worries of this world. Those who do not have goods worry about the uncertainty of getting it and those who have much material worry about the possibility of losing it. There is none in this world who can escape from this hook. It would be possible for man to live alone like Bubjung (the name of monk) who wrote ‘Non-possession’ but this is also impracticable for those who have a responsibility to support his family.
However, such difficulties do not merely come from the responsibility to support the family. The spirit of the age where he belongs gives a greater influence. Material deficiency is more sensed in material centered society but it is not so in the society where there is human-centered.
‘Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh’ is a story about the life of Ladakh people residing in a remote place of Tibet. The people in that place enjoy their lives struggling with sterile environment. Generally, they are poor. However, they do not bother much about their status of poverty. For them there is only life which is sufficient for them.
Our worries mainly originate from our mind that is engrossed in the materialistic things of the world without which, we think, we would lose our lives. Worldly people do that as they are but it is even more miserable if we Christian who absolutely depend on Jesus’ resurrection also do the same thing. The deficiency of material only renders discomfort; it has no power to destroy our lives. Do not cross the bridge until you get there.
Hearing Jesus’ command to give up his goods and follow him, the rich man went away sadly, because he had great wealth. To slightly change the content of the story, if a man with a little wealth hears the same command of Jesus would he follow him with a joyful heart? In my point of view, such possibility is very less. Basically there is no much difference between the difficulty faced by a rich man in renouncing his wealth and the difficulty faced by a poor man in renouncing his little wealth. Whether it is great or small man is bound to be ruled by the goods.
Gripped by materialism we perpetually worry for uncertainties of life. Most people are affected by the wave of worries of this world. Those who do not have goods worry about the uncertainty of getting it and those who have much material worry about the possibility of losing it. There is none in this world who can escape from this hook. It would be possible for man to live alone like Bubjung (the name of monk) who wrote ‘Non-possession’ but this is also impracticable for those who have a responsibility to support his family.
However, such difficulties do not merely come from the responsibility to support the family. The spirit of the age where he belongs gives a greater influence. Material deficiency is more sensed in material centered society but it is not so in the society where there is human-centered.
‘Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh’ is a story about the life of Ladakh people residing in a remote place of Tibet. The people in that place enjoy their lives struggling with sterile environment. Generally, they are poor. However, they do not bother much about their status of poverty. For them there is only life which is sufficient for them.
Our worries mainly originate from our mind that is engrossed in the materialistic things of the world without which, we think, we would lose our lives. Worldly people do that as they are but it is even more miserable if we Christian who absolutely depend on Jesus’ resurrection also do the same thing. The deficiency of material only renders discomfort; it has no power to destroy our lives. Do not cross the bridge until you get there.
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