DON’T VALUE STUFF OVER GOD
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, 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!”
Mark 10:21-25 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
We started to look at this story yesterday. We got to the young man saying he had kept all the laws of Moses. I told you yesterday this young man was the only person in the New Testament who left Jesus’ presence worse than when he came (I guess you could say that Judas was another one). There was something about this young man that made Jesus have “genuine love for him.” Perhaps Jesus recognized the man was deceived into thinking obeying external laws was enough to get eternal life. Jesus comes to the heart of the issue rather quickly with the words, “There is still one thing you haven’t done.” I would be glad if Jesus were to say to me, “there’s one thing you haven’t done.” I could think of several things I need to change about myself. Jesus then instructs the young man to sell everything he has and give the money to the poor. We should note at this point that this is the only such instruction Jesus gave in the New Testament. This was not a model for all believers. This instruction was for this one man because he had an issue with stuff. He coveted stuff. Evidently his self-image was determined by the stuff he possessed. The problem was not in having stuff. The problem was that the stuff had him. He was sacrificing the eternal for the temporal. He was more attached to his stuff than to the Savior. My dad used to say, “I don’t want anything in my life that God can’t have the moment He wants it.” The young man walks away sad because he knows he doesn’t want to give away his stuff. Jesus knew there was no need to compromise. No need to offer him a discount—just get rid of half and we’ll work on the rest later. It was better to know the cost up front than to give a false assurance. You can’t love God and the world! The disciples were confused because in their mindset to be rich meant you were special to God. (There are some today who teach that kind of error.) Wealth should never be a measuring stick for spirituality. Jesus said it is hard for the rich to the enter the kingdom of heaven. The problem is for those who trust in their wealth it is difficult to recognize their trust has to be in God. We can’t trust in wealth and in God.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please help me to trust fully in You. Help me to never value someone more or less because of their wealth.
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