“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” – Hebrews 10:32-34

Throughout the ages, the history of the church is replete with stories of intense persecution. It was the same with the Hebrew believers in the scripture at the top of this page. Once they received the light, they had to “stand [their] ground in a great contest in the face of suffering”. They “were publicly exposed to insult and persecution.” If they were not directly being attacked, they had to stand “side by side with those who were so treated”. In all these, they “joyfully accepted the confiscation of [their] property.” Paul told Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Satan’s aim in sponsoring persecution against the followers of Christ is their faith; he intends to cause believers to abandon their faith in Jesus Christ. Come to think of it, was Satan in need of goats, sheep or any of the other possessions of Job when he attacked him and destroyed them? No, is the answer. As far as the enemy was concerned, taking Job’s property away from him was only a means to an end – the truncation of Job’s walk with God. When his wife urged him to “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9), it was the devil speaking through Mrs Job’s voice. That was the plan all along. 

Satan’s aim in sponsoring persecution against the followers of Christ is their faith; he intends to cause believers to abandon their faith in Jesus Christ.

Possessions for The Same Purpose

In the same scripture above, the enemy didn’t stop using public insults, various forms of persecution and imprisonment to target the faith of the believers, he also confiscated their property in an attempt to achieve his aim. In Job’s case, the devil also first targeted his property as a way to get to his faith in God.

The question then is: what is it about property (possessions, belongings, worldly goods) that makes them a target of the enemy?

The natural man or woman is attached to their possessions; their hearts are wound around what they possess. Possessions give a sense of fulfilment to the natural mind; possessions are classist stuff. Even after conversion, getting one’s mind disentangled from the goods of this life is a battle that countless Christians lose. In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained that “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). These individuals receive the word but possessions render it unfruitful in their lives. By now you should have noticed what Satan does: he either strips you of possessions to get to your faith in God or he uses your love for possessions to thwart your faith in God. In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, the enemy offered him possessions instead of taking them away: “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). Either way —by giving or by taking away— possessions are a tool in his hands to get to the believer’s faith in God.

By now you should have noticed what Satan does: he either strips you of possessions to get to your faith in God or he uses your love for possessions to thwart your faith in God.

Examine Your Heart

The rich young man ran to Jesus and fell on his knees (an uncommon thing for the rich to do), asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus gave him a list of dos and he said he had kept all those since he was a boy. That Jesus did not dispute this claim of his makes me think the young man spoke the truth. Imagine the combination of wealth and youth, keeping the commandments, ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother’ (Mark 10:19), but this guy did. Where he failed was when Jesus told him to “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:22). The Bible says, ‘At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth’ (Mark 10:22). Possessions! 

Do not glibly say to yourself that possessions have got nothing on you so Satan can do your faith no harm with them. Don’t you desire a bigger salary? Isn’t that not why you took that Job? All that you call grind and hustle, is it not about acquiring more possessions? What about that phone that cost you so much you had to borrow to buy? Wasn’t the old one performing the primary functions of a phone? When a sleek car drove past you or you walked past that posh house or saw the advert for that glistening wristwatch, weren’t you enticed? Haven’t you thought to yourself that if you earned just a little more or had just a little more, your life would be happier? Isn’t your self-worth based on what you have? Have you met your colleagues somewhere and felt important because of how you appeared in the moment or what you possessed or felt inferior because of what they had that you didn’t? Have you bought what you didn’t need/like to impress/oppress those you don’t like? John says “Everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16, my italics). This calls for self-examination from us all, with no exceptions.

This is not about advocating for poverty, as money is needed to do a lot of good, but note that once you have even the faintest love for, or attachment to, possessions, Satan can harm your faith. That affection for possessions gives the devil something to work with.

This is not about advocating for poverty, as money is needed to do a lot of good, but note that once you have even the faintest love for, or attachment to, possessions, Satan can harm your faith. That affection for possessions gives the devil something to work with.

Something Much Better, Which Would Last Forever

What was it about those Hebrew believers in our key scripture that the confiscation of their property did nothing to their faith in God?

It was because they knew that they “had better and lasting possessions.” They knew. Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Every truth you truly know sets you free from something. The knowledge in these believers that they had better and lasting possessions set them free from the tyranny of earthly possessions and disarmed the devil of the weapon he could have used to truncate their faith. They looked at whatever they possessed on earth, valued it and then compared that value to what they had in Christ, both now and in eternity and they found that what they had in Christ was more valuable than anything earth had to offer. This is not ignorance, it is a knowing of the value of both sets of possessions and a correct estimation of which is more valuable and worth living, and if need be, dying for. Whatever they had on earth was temporary, what they had in Christ was something that would last forever. Paul said, “We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Others Who Have Also Seen Better Things

To encourage us in our battle against the enemy and his taking advantage of the power of possessions over the human heart, scripture records examples of saints gone before who won this battle.

When God called Abram, he told him to “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). The book of Hebrews tells us that “he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise” (Hebrews 11:9). Why did he leave his father’s house to go and dwell in tents in a foreign land? Possessions had nothing on him, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

Moses looked at all the possessions of Pharaoh’s house but chose to suffer disgrace for the sake of Christ (who at that time was still a promise) for the same reason: “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:26).

The early disciples, Simon (Peter), James and John, after catching such a large number of fish at Jesus’ direction, still did the same thing: “They pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11).

In Acts 4, the early believers were able to sell all their possessions and give to the poor, such that no one was needy among them. Joseph, called Barnabas, was one of such (Acts 4:32-37). Possessions had nothing on them and their faith.

Paul said, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).

It was this same attitude of mind that Jesus had, that he refused to take up Satan’s offer of “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour” (Matthew 4:8). Jesus answered the enemy, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:10).

That The Eyes of Your Heart May Be Enlightened

The example of the Hebrew believers who “joyfully accepted the confiscation of [their] property” was written for you and me. How can someone rejoice when their possessions are forcefully taken away from them? Why didn’t they murmur against God for not protecting them from their enemies? Why did this attack not dent their faith in God? 

James says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Peter says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

How can you and I heed these instructions? How can we emulate the example of the Hebrew believers? How can we come to a point where earthly possessions no longer have a choke-hold on our hearts such that we can do anything to have them, or not be moved when we lose them, especially for the sake of Christ?

Jesus once told some persons that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). How can we know this in the same way that the Hebrew believers knew it and were freed from the attachment to possessions? 

First, the wrong estimation of the value of possessions in our lives is a matter of sight, nay, poor sight.

Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). There’s the answer. The reason why anyone is bound to earthly possessions is because they have not seen “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” This is what ailed the rich young man who walked away when Jesus asked him to sell his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and follow him. 

The Hebrew believers had the eyes of their eyes enlightened and they saw this; that’s why they could joyfully accept the confiscation of their property; they knew they “had better and lasting possessions.” It was this same miracle that happened to the men in the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl, that when they found them, they sold everything they had to acquire the treasure and the pearl (Matthew 13:44-46). 

Beloved, our inheritance is God himself. There are many things that God is for us in Christ Jesus (forgiveness, redemption, justification, righteousness, sanctification, freedom, hope, eternal security, present presence, etc.), but it would be remiss for us to long for things to the detriment of longing for God himself. When God appeared to Abram, this was the offer: “I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). The Psalmist knew this when he cried, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you … God is … my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). Paul said he lost everything that he may “gain Christ”; he also said that we are “heirs of God” (Romans 8:17). The gospel he brought to the Gentiles was “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). What we inherit in Christ is first God himself. It is him that no expenditure can deplete; it is him that no rust or moth can destroy and no thief can steal. It is him who can supply riches for all eternity and never be empty, nay, even diminish. When you hear of “better and lasting possessions”, you may set your heart on the promised mansions in the new Jerusalem, the golden streets and every other bliss —and those are good, but they alone cannot satisfy. Your soul will long for more because it was made for more. Only God can be the portion of a human spirit; only he is better and lasting. None else can fill the narrowest and the smallest of man’s needs. O that God would be the heaven of our heaven.

Beloved, our inheritance is God himself

“Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16). Can you now turn to the Lord and make Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians your own — “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints”.