Asceticism

I don't agree with your reading of Matthew 19:21, but I'm not prepared to answer exactly why.

I think you're being overly harsh on yourself and many others. The litmus test that's being applied here -- those who haven't sold everything and live the ascetic life aren't real believers -- is, I think, overly stringent.

As I was trying to prepare a response to this, one thought that went through my mind was this: As portrayed in the pages of Scripture, Jesus was by no means wealthy, but also by no means living in abject poverty. We know his group of disciples maintained a "purse" for money, and that there was at least some thought about providing for the poor, which would be those other than his group. How would you answer to the question -- if having things is a sign of weak faith, why was not Jesus at least as poor as the poorest around him?

That's a serious question.