Sharing Material Items

(David Castillo - FreeDigitalPhots.net)

Another key element of the Church is the call to hold all material items very loosely.  Paul told the church at Philippi that he had learned to have much or to have nothing, that his material status had no impact on the way he saw himself in Christ (Philippians 4:10-13).  And if we look in Acts 2 and Acts 4, we see a radical generosity with the material items that the early Church had.  Acts 2 tells us that they had everything in common.  One commentator shares that he thinks this is less about one place where everyone kept his or her 'stuff', but more so that when a need came up, it wasn't question as to if it was going to be met.  The goods, though perhaps kept in one individual's home, were always available for the greater good.

Acts 4 tells us that no one claimed that anything was his own and then soon after states, "And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them."  Later in the New Testament, Paul says to the church at Corinth the he desires there to be equality among the believers in material items.

And so from these passages and others we can fairly conclude that part of the call of the Church is to be generous and to be very free and giving with our material items and wealth.

- tC