Chapter 9: Detachment
Over the past week I’ve been reflecting on this story from the Gospel of Mark (don’t worry this won’t be political but if you aren’t a fan of mysticism you can tune out):
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
What I take from this story isn’t that it is bad to be wealthy but that the pursuit and possession of wealth can make it extremely difficult to respond to God’s call. If you aren’t religious, then replace “calling” with “purpose”: money can distract me from finding my purpose in life.
If I try to make the accumulation of money my purpose in life, and discover down the road that it isn’t, there are at least two major consequences:
I will have spent a lifetime chasing a goal, only to learn something I might have learned 40 years earlier: money and stuff won’t make me happy.
I may be too attached to money and possessions at that point to be able to leave it all if that’s what is required to respond to God’s call.
In each chapter I give one concrete step that I’ve taken so you can follow along.
Concrete Step #9: Be open to God's Call
Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to keep pursuing my business aspirations but I’m also going to be open to God’s call if He has something else in store. If I’m not open to being wrong about my purpose in life, then I run the risk missing the off ramp to lasting joy.
DISCLAIMER:
I've never done this before and I'm learning as I go. Be cautious because I will make mistakes, but also be inspired because if I can start a business, so can you.