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Luke 14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. It was after that famous Pentecost when the Shekinah appeared on the disciples of the Master anointing them for the task at hand of revealing the Master to the whole world. Many of those who had come from abroad to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost decided to stay and learn from those who lived closed to the Master (Acts 2). To financially support the fledgling Nazarene movement, the Jerusalem disciples adopted a Kibbutz type of lifestyle (Acts 2:44-45; 4:13). Barnabas was the first to set the example setting his enormous fortune at the feet of the disciples. He received great honor for that! Those like Barnabas who gave all became destitute, but having nothing left, they had access to the common pot. It was not a communistic forced sharing of wealth; it was a voluntary work of love for the sake of the community. I heard it said one time that the difference between what the early Jerusalem believers did to survive and what is called 'Communism', is that the Communist says, "What's your is mine and I will take it at the point of a gun", but the Master's disciple says, "What's mine is yours and I will share it with you because I love you". Like the Master suggested, in general, the disciples adopted the 'word of honor' system. People were bound by their word not by vows or swearing to give all (Matthew 5:37). People declared by their own word of honor that this was all their possessions, and thereby had access to the common pot. No one came to check that what they laid at the apostle's feet was actually the sum total of their wealth. Asking someone to bind their word by swearing as suggested in Numbers 30:2 denotes of a certain lack of trust in one's integrity, and lack of trust is never healthy in any type of relationship. That is why I never understood prenups: right away it shows you don't trust each other! Why even get married? Ananias and Sephira decided to use this system of trust to their own advantage. They were going to pretend to share all and thereby have access to the common pot, but in actuality, they kept a hidden reserve. This was wrong in so many ways but mostly of breaking and taking advantage of the principle of trust built on the word of honor system. It was lying and in this case the same as breaking an oath. The Father saw through their wicked heart and executed them as they faced the disciples (Acts 5: 1-11). We may look at Ananias and Sephira with disgust wondering how one could do such things. In the same manner though, discipleship to the Master implies a promise to give all (Luke 14:33). It is not right when two partners decide to share all but one keeps a reserve. Yeshua gave His all, so likewise we owe Him our all. When we come to the Master with our lives, everything must be on the table. If we have 'reservations', He will surely find us out. By the way, it is the same in marriage: it doesn't work when one gives all and the other has 'reservations'. May our lifestyle always reflect our words! Patrick Gabriel Lumbroso www.thelumbrosos.com
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