Possessions That Possess You

When Jesus said you cannot be His disciple if you don’t forsake all your possessions, He wasn’t saying everyone has to live in a cave with nothing. He was pointing to something more subtle and more dangerous: the things that possess you.

Your possessions aren’t necessarily the things you own. Your possession is what owns you. It’s that thing you cling to, worry about, build your life around, can’t imagine losing. For one person it might be a house they’ve mortgaged their peace for. For another it’s a bank account they check constantly. For another it’s investments, property, a car, jewelry, status—anything valuable that you hold so tightly that it holds you.

Notice how Jesus didn’t give the same instruction to everyone. He told the rich young ruler to sell everything because his love of money had metastasized into his whole life—it was stage-four cancer. But He didn’t tell Zacchaeus to give up everything. Zacchaeus was willing to give half his goods to the poor, and Jesus said that was enough. The instruction was tailored to the person’s condition, but the principle was the same: whatever has a grip on you must be released.

Here’s the beautiful picture: think of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham loved his son more than anything. Isaac was his treasure, his legacy, his joy. And God asked him to let go—not permanently, but to show Him that he didn’t possess Isaac. The moment Abraham was willing to surrender Isaac, he got him back. But now he held him differently. Isaac was still his son. He was still in his home. But Abraham no longer possessed him. That’s the shift Jesus wants you to make with everything you value.

The question isn’t “Do I own things?” The question is “Do things own me?” Can you hold your possessions loosely enough that you could lose them and your faith wouldn’t shake? Can you obey God even if it costs you your security, your comfort, your dream?