“Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”
Matthew 19:16-30 NLT
How dangerous is money? The most dangerous things in our lives are the possessions, power, positions, or people that we value more than God. What poses the most peril to our souls is not weapons but simple items that mean too much to us.
The rich young man called Jesus good, but Jesus reminded him that only God is good. Jesus is God, but the man did not realize that—though Jesus pointed him in that direction. The young man had a great question: what to do to inherit eternal life? Of course, we don’t earn eternal life but accept it from the Lord. Jesus understood this young man’s thinking and so quoted some of the Ten Commandments. Yet He left out the commands about not working on the Sabbath, not coveting, not worshiping idols, and worshiping the Lord alone. These were the commandments the young man had likely ignored in order to gain his wealth and position. Christ didn’t tell the young man to obey the commandments but sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow the King. Jesus is God and claims absolute obedience in our lives. This is the very purpose of our lives; everything else is second—and possibly a dangerous temptation. The rich man walked away sad. He walked away from Jesus, the Author of Life. He walked away from the adventure of following Jesus.
Possessions can so easily possess us. Is having too much wealth success or failure? If we do have more than we need, God has given it to give away, helping those who have less than they need.
Is your thinking about money shaped more by your culture or by Christ? If everything you have is given by God (and belongs to Him), how does He want you to spend it?
