Lessons Found in an Unexpected Place
In every room, I saw evidence of a life lived. Every closet filled with clothes and countless shoes. A bar with drinking glasses and an ice bucket near a pool table. A wedding dress. Fine china and glassware. Well-made furniture. Games and puzzles. Everything was marked with a price and strangers strolled through looking for bargains or something special. It was an estate sale.
I always have an odd feeling when I visit an estate sale, which I have only done a few times. Each time I picture myself as a stranger walking through my home looking for bargains from what remains after my life ends. Most people only see the things for sale. I doubt whether many consider the life behind them.
It is an odd transection of life and death. Things precious to us and which helped give order and meaning to our lives are left behind for strangers to pick through. The Scriptures are clear that when we leave this life, we can take nothing with us (Psalm 49:16-17), and that life consists of more than merely what we can accumulate (Luke 12:15). Yet, most people continue to accumulate things throughout their lives. Perhaps visualizing an estate sale at our own home is a good exercise.
Jesus encountered a young man who was very rich. The man initiated the conversation by asking Him what he needed to do to gain eternal life (Mark 10:17-22). The Lord responded with what the man expected to hear and was confident that he had done those things. Jesus accepted his answer, but said he still needed to take an additional step: sell all he had, give it to the poor, and then come follow Him. Mark says the man’s demeanor changed from confident to saddened because of what Jesus commanded him to do. He could not part with his wealth.
Some have argued over the centuries that this command applies to everyone; thus, many monks have taken a vow of poverty. I think it is a little more nuanced than that. There were women of means that supported Jesus (Luke 8:1-3), and the early church met in homes which were owned by other believers. (Acts 2:46 ; Acts 18:26). It is not wealth itself that is the problem, but rather the temptations that can accompany it. As Paul warned Timothy, (1 Timothy 6:10), wealth is the root of all kinds of evil.
“Follow the money” is a common phrase today and often what is found along its course is greed and corruption. We see this in politics and government, corporate finance, education, sports, and, sadly, in the Church. The danger of wealth is the continual pursuit of it. Never having enough. Never being satisfied. The temptation is to hold onto what we have and, at the same time, pursue more.
The reality is, no matter what we accumulate in this life, it will have no value to us in the life to come. I think what Jesus tried to teach through His encounter with the young rich man is to hold onto wealth loosely so it cannot get ahold of you. The ultimate danger of wealth is it becomes an idol, a source of security and allegiance. The Lord tells us that we can only have one master in our lives, that we can’t serve BOTH God and money (Matthew 6:24). In other words, we can’t cling to our 401K with more diligence than our pursuit of the Kingdom or gain our sense of security from what we possess.
In a materialistic culture such as ours, this is a very difficult task. It requires maximum intentionality because temptations are all around us and relentless. It also requires trusting in the Lord’s provision for us. My wife and I have been in support-dependent ministries most of our adult lives. We are wealthy compared to 98% of the rest of the world but have very little money for retirement. The temptation to focus on what we lack and how we make up for it is frequent. However, what helps us to resist is the fact that the Lord has always provided for our needs. We have never lacked what we truly needed. And we head into the future with the same trust.
For each of us, an estate sale is a possible outcome for the possessions we leave behind. The Psalmist reminds us of this: “For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.” (Psalm 49:10 NIV). We won’t be keeping any of it. Perhaps we should make it our goal to live with that in mind.
Until next time . . .
© Jim Musser 2026
