“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21
“How then does the apostle argue the Christian case for contentment and against covetousness? He reminds us of a fundamental (though often ignored) fact of our human experience, relating to our birth and death. It is that we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. It seems probable that Paul is alluding to a salutary truth on which Israel’s wise men reflected.
Here is Job’s version of it: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart.’ That is, we are born naked and penniless, and when we die and are buried we are naked and penniless again. In respect of earthly possessions, our entry and our exit are identical. So our life on earth is a brief pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness.
As the officiating minister said at the funeral of a wealthy lady, when asked by the curious how much she had left, ‘She left everything.’ It is a perspective which should influence our economic lifestyle. For possession are only the traveling luggage of time; they are not the stuff of eternity. It would be sensible therefore to travel light and, as Jesus Himself commanded us, not to store up for ourselves (that is, to accumulate selfishly) treasures on earth.”
John R.W. Stott in The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus (TBST; Downers Grove: IVP, 1996) 150.
This bit from wisdom Stott stuck with me today as I type in my hotel room on a weekend of rest in the mountains (Mount Holy Cross wilderness pictured above): “So our life on earth is a brief pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness.”
This means that our “economic lifestyle” as Stott puts it, should reflect radical obedience to the teachings of Jesus. He traveled light and used possessions with a missional focus. So should we.
And notice the illustration from the funeral. Stott rightly reminds us through the words of the minister that the wealthy woman left everything. But, imagine her meeting the Lord and having to give account for her stewardship!
She had the capacity to bless others and advance the gospel, but she didn’t do it. The time to live, give, serve, and love is whilst you are on the “brief pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness.”
Look at your bank accounts today. List any assets you have. Make a decision today to store them up in heaven through giving. The time to do this is now. You came from nakedness and will return there shortly.