Should I sell everything and give to the poor?

If Jesus asked you to sell all you had and give the proceeds to the poor, how would you respond? 

Would you do it? Would you hesitate? Would you try to redefine the words ‘sell’ and ‘give’ to mean something more palatable? Throughout church history there’ve been Christians who’ve taken a vow of poverty. Also throughout church history, there’ve been Christians who have not taken a vow of poverty. Is one group being more obedient than the other?  

Presumably, the notion of selling one’s possessions and giving to the poor as an act of piety has its origins in verses like the ones we read in Luke 12 and 18:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34 (NIV) 

“When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’” Luke 18:22-25 (NIV) 

To unpack what Jesus is saying, beyond how it’s been translated into English, we need to look at the Greek and explore these verses in the context of Jesus’ main message during his three-year ministry: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17, ESV) While it’s important to respect the scholarly work that has gone before, it’s also good to revisit words in their original meaning to see if we can add more nuance to our understanding.  

Sell your possessions and give to the poor

The Greek word for ‘sell’ in these passages is póleó, which means to exchange, barter, sell. It’s interesting that Jesus says this to two different audiences. In chapter 12 he’s speaking to his disciples, most of whom did not have material wealth. And in chapter 18 he’s speaking to a rich ruler, someone who clearly did have material wealth. 

Considering the noticeable difference in purchasing power, perhaps Jesus wasn’t saying ‘sell’ but ‘barter’. This begs the question: What is significant about bartering?

The website Investopedia.com describes bartering as: “Two individuals negotiate to determine the relative value of their goods and services and offer them to one another in an even exchange.” It goes on to say, “Bartering can have a psychological benefit because it can create a deeper personal relationship between trading partners than a typical monetized transaction. Bartering can also help people build professional networks and market their businesses. On a broader level, bartering can result in the optimal allocation of resources by exchanging goods in quantities that represent similar values. Bartering can also help economies achieve equilibrium, which occurs when demand equals supply.” [1] 

Isn’t that interesting? Bartering encourages deeper personal relationships, helps build networks and grow businesses, and results in the optimal allocation of resources. That sounds like a ‘kingdom’ economy to me! 

What, then, are the implications for the poor? If we consider it in the context of charitable giving, if Jesus were really telling us to sell our possessions and give to the poor, the implication is that it’s a one-way transaction. Put simplistically, the poor need our money because they don’t have resources to solve their own problems, and it’s assumed that they don’t have anything to give us in return because they’re poor. The power dynamic skews very much in our favour. And not only that, it subtly encourages an attitude of condescension on our part, and a loss of agency on theirs. 

But if Jesus is telling us to barter – as in, use our heavenly resources to build relationships and networks, and achieve growth and optimal resource allocation for all involved – this changes the narrative. This means that we have something to give to those less ‘fortunate’, but they also have something to give us. The power dynamic no longer skews in our favour. All parties are empowered for the benefit of God's Kingdom.  

Cultivating a kingdom mindset

Let’s return to our Bible passages and zero in on another element that Jesus is highlighting: 

Luke 12:32 – Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

Luke 18:25 – How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

As mentioned at the beginning, Jesus’ main message wasn’t his death and resurrection; it was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” What’s significant about the word kingdom? Firstly, a kingdom is run by a king who owns the land and its resources. The citizens living in that kingdom don’t own the land, but they can enjoy its fruits if they steward it well. God is our King and we are His stewards. Nothing we have is ours; everything we have is a gift. And when we live accordingly, He is pleased to give us the kingdom. But when we live as if the wealth we have is ours (either because we built it ourselves or because we inherited it), ‘giving it away’ can be a real dilemma.

Which is why Jesus’ message, first and foremost, was repent. The Greek word there is metanoeó which means ‘to change one’s way of thinking’, or, ‘to think differently afterwards’. After what? After an encounter with Jesus. We cannot comprehend what ‘sell your possessions and give to the poor’ means until we change our thinking from an earthly mindset to a kingdom mindset. God is not asking us to become destitute. He’s asking us to steward His resources for the flourishing of mankind. As Christians, let's show others that 1) they do have something to give regardless of how much or how little they own and 2) their resources come from heavenly places. 

Treasures in heaven 

Luke 12:33 – a treasure in heaven that will never fail… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 18:22 – and you will have treasure in heaven.

Treasures in heaven have nothing to do with material wealth. When we get to heaven, we’re going to be so caught up in worshiping the Almighty God alongside every nation, tribe and tongue that material wealth will mean absolutely nothing to us. If we think that foregoing material comfort on earth will gain us material comfort in heaven, we have missed the point. 

The treasure Jesus speaks of is what we have at our disposal in heavenly places – the gifts, talents, abilities and resources He has given us to steward the earth with. The kingdom of God is at hand; it is on earth as it is in heaven, here and now. If we have submitted our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we are already living an eternal life. We do not need to wait until we die to experience heavenly abundance. Equally, we do not need to sell all our physical possessions to make a pious point. What Jesus requires of us is that we change our thinking and use all the resources at our disposal to bring an unbelieving world into a state of righteousness, peace and joy (Paul’s definition of the ‘kingdom’ in Romans 14:17). 

What does this mean in practice?

All that said, what does it mean for us practically? Am I saying that we should stop giving to charity? No, I’m not. Sometimes financial gifts really are the best way to meet a need. But not always. 

Instead of only giving to charity, why not also consider giving to social enterprises? They are set up to solve a social problem as well as to make a profit, and they’re often in a position to offer dignified employment to people who might normally experience barriers to work. (Check out some of our charity partners like Grace Enterprises and Cinnamon Network who are doing great stuff to transform communities!) 

Why not seek out a business owner or entrepreneur in your church who has ideas for how to solve a problem that the government or civil society aren’t solving? Ask if you can support their venture financially (or in some other way) that allows them to scale their work. 

If you’ve got capital at your disposal and are in a position to invest, why not seek out start-ups that are being run by Christians who are working to bring shalom to a broken area of our world? There are some great networks you can plug into, like Wonderful Leaders, Faith Driven Investor, and Faith Driven Entrepreneur. If you have a Philanthropy Fund, you can nominate your own impact investments. 

When we understand this command in the context of engaging and exchanging all we possess – including our intellect and ideas – for the flourishing of humankind, we are released into a greater realm of creativity. Selling our material possessions carries a limitation. Engaging the treasures we have in heavenly places bears no limitation at all.

More on money and the Bible

We have an array of blogs that focus on biblical stewardship and charitable giving, as well as a range of resources to help you think more clearly about money.

[1] Source: Barter (or Bartering) Definition, Uses, and Example