Poverty Equals Salvation? Dan Barker wrote:
“According to Jesus, what must you do to have eternal life?…Sell everything you have and give all the money to the poor. -Heaven will be very empty, it seems. How many Christians take seriously this direct command of Jesus?
‘And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?…Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.’ (Matthew 19:16-21. See also Luke 12:33)“1
Interestingly enough, the third word into the quoted text answer the issue for us: “one.” One man came, one man asked and Jesus answered one man. If this was a standard for salvation it would be as ubiquitous as the generalized gospel message.
Somehow, Dan Barker overlooked quoting Matthew 19’s 22nd verse, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Clearly, Jesus was speaking directly to this one man’s life situation. Note the correlation between “treasure in heaven” on the one hand and “great possessions” on the other. How could he, at that time, have been ready to follow Jesus if he could not let go of his great possessions?
The point of these sorts of texts is to let go of attachment and set priorities, “seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:31). Also, “No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24 also Luke 16:13). “Mammon” is understood as wealth, avarice or plainly, money. The problem is not having it but serving it.