Having Nothing

“He who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone.” - C. S. Lewis

“We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.” - Aleksander Solzhenitsyn

Karl Marx taught that in our world people exist because of what they have. Thus, if they have nothing, they do not exist.

Who are you if you lost all your “stuff”? For me this is hard to imagine and understand. Yet all this “stuff” seems permanent yet it is all passing away. What will last is spiritual; our spirit lives forever.

If we had nothing, we could be in serious bondage (having to get something) or in spirit lifting freedom (I don’t need anything, its just me and the Lord.)

If you had nothing, would you be in bondage or would you experience spirit lifting freedom? As a Christian, I would like to think I would be spiritually free but my “realistic” nature would take control. I would need to work towards getting shelter, clothes, and the other necessities in order to survive. How much do I trust the Lord? We trust who and what we know. How can we trust the Lord if we don’t know Him? Would we trust Him even if we had nothing? What would be important then?

I know my answer, like I said, I would take matters in my own hands, work to get the necessities (very practical) but I’d take my life into my own hands. I’d be as self-sufficient as possible. I would pursue what was needed (cheap) first and than pursue what was valuable.

Life is not easy. We exist in the practical world but we long to be spiritually free. To do this, I must trust God. That’s easier said than done.

Lord, deepen my trust of you. Get my priorities right. May I pursue what is right and pure. May I live in realistic dependence upon you every minute whether I have my stuff or I have nothing. Guide me sweet Jesus. Amen.