Is Voluntary Poverty Normative For Christians?

In the encounter with the rich young ruler, Jesus famously tells him that he must sell all his possessions and give it to the poor, then follow Jesus to receive eternal life. The man walks away sad because he is too attached to his possessions (Matthew 19, mark 10, and Luke 18). When asked whether this command is binding for all Jesus’s followers, most people say it is not. But Jesus also repeats this command in two other places (Luke 12 and Luke 14). Furthermore, John tells us that the unique indicator of Christian community is love one for another. Then, in the book of Acts, the early church is described as sharing all their possessions freely with each other (Acts 2, Acts 4). So the question is, “Are we supposed to be following this approach today?”

Here is my suggestion. You are of course encouraged to read all the following Scriptures. But for starters, just read the book of Luke in as close to one sitting as you can, paying special attention to all the references to money and asking how these stories make sense in light of Jesus's teachings about money.

Bible References: Prov 11:6, Matt 4:18-22, Matt 5:1-12, Matt 5:40-48, Matt 6:1-4, Matt 6:19-34, Matt 8:18-20, Matt 19:16-30, Matt 21:12-46, Matt 24:32-51, Matt 25:1-46, Matt 26:6-13, Mark 4:1-25, Mark 10:17-31, Mark 11:12-26, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 6:20-49, Luke 7:36-50, Luke 8:4-15, Luke 9:57-58, Luke 12:1-59, Luke 13:1-9, Luke 14:7-15, Luke 14:25-35, Luke 15:1-32, Luke 16:1-31, Luke 18:18-30, Luke 19:1-27, John 12:1-8, Acts 2:41-47, Acts 3:1-10, Acts 4:32-37, Acts 5:1-12, Rom 1:26-32, Rom 12:4-9, 1 Cor 13:1-3, 2 Cor 8:1-24, 2 Cor 9:1-15, Gal 2:1-10, Gal 6:1-10, Eph 2:4-10, Eph 3:8, Eph 4:17-20, Eph 5:1-6, Phil 3:7-11, Phil 4:5-9, Phil 4:13-20, Cols 1:25-29, Col 2:1-3, Col 3:1-7, 1 Tim 3:1-10, 1 Tim 6:1-10, 2 Tim 3:1-5, Heb 13:1-8, James 1:9-10, James 1:27, James 2:1-13, James 5:1-6, Titus 1:5-11, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 2 Peter 2:12-16, 1 John 2:8-11, 1 John 3:16-19, 1 John 4:19-20