Sell

"Sell all that you have and give it to the poor."

Shit.

That's enough to make anyone walk away sad,
anyone who believes possessions are part of them,
who lives within a mind that thrives on amassing
wealth, health, years, times, things that shine.

A whole people whimpers, "Shit,"
For we have forgotten to leave others alone,
to each their own,
not to own but to be at peace with the sacred surroundings.
Israel's mingling was not abhorrent because of other tribes,
it was their search for comforts that were no comfort at all,
bigger crops, bigger storage, taller hills for worship.
And then they cried
and called their despoiling the judgment of God.
Such is what happens when you outgrow your provisions
and seek to enculturate and dominate your neighbors.
There is abundance for a people of faith and care,
but once all a people wants is to want
there can never be enough.
And so we know why we're to sell all of our shit,
give it away,
we were never meant to have it,
for to have is to commit adultery against provision and providence,
to lust after poles on hills,
to cheat and steal,
to never know abundance or happiness.

(Judges 2:11-19, Psalm 106, Matthew 19:16-22)