First, when Christ mentions giving up all material possessions, I do not think that it means that we are to live a life of squalor. We know that Jesus certainly did. In Luke 9:58, Jesus says "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." We know his ministry was supported by the women who followed him, as recorded in Luke 8:1-3, Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. Furthermore, when the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and asks "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responds that in addition to following the commands of God, "there is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
I propose an alternative, that it isn't that we are to sell everything, but submit everything to God and follow His will for our lives and our belongings. The young ruler left Christ because he couldn't give up his possessions. He valued them more than a relationship with Christ.
Christ mentioned storing treasures in heaven to the young ruler. This is also talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:19-21 ""Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jesus seems to be reminding the ruler that his treasure is not in heaven but he is more concerned with his possessions here. Christ seems to be reminding him of one of the 10 commandments, do not covet. He has a selfish desire for his own possessions. His selfishness is greater than the command Christ gives him, to give all of his possessions to the poor.
I see the message not being that our possessions are evil, but we must be willing to use them for God. We see this message echoed elsewhere in the new testament. In 1st Timothy chapter 6:7-11, Paul writes “Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.” Paul doesn’t say that money is evil, but the love of money. The desire to acquire possessions for selfish reasons. Paul says instead of pursuing be successful in life in the terms of money, be successful by being a man of God, one who seeks to live a Godly life.
Jesus gives a similar testimony in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?' or "What will we drink?' or "What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. Paul says if we have clothes and food, we are doing pretty good. Because we are content with what we have, we can strive for better things. The better things are living a life for God. Jesus says to not worry about clothes and food, God will provide, that life is more than these. He says to strive to live for the kingdom of God and give up striving for earthly possessions.
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