The Rich Young Ruler

I've been thinking a lot lately about the rich, young ruler from the gospel of Luke. We are all familiar with the story. Here is a young man who meets Jesus and wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. He's basically asked if he is following the commandments and he says yes. Then Jesus tells him there is one more thing he must do. Jesus says, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come follow me." We are then told that the man walked away very sad because he was a man of great wealth.

What we see here is that the man wasn't following all of God's commandments because he was putting an idol above God-his wealth. Everytime I have heard this story, whether in church, in a book, online, etc., it is almost always followed by a quick explanation that God does not expect us to give up everything-that is is just an illustration of something that was an idol in this man's life, and God would NEVER expect us to sell everything and give it all away. We would only have to do that if it were an idol in our lives.

I am left wondering if the fact that as Christians we are so quick to rationalize this explanation and excuse ourselves from this command to the young man means that indeed money and "stuff" IS an idol in our lives. We don't have to be rich to put money above God.

We are so eager to give of our time, but when it comes to money or material possessions, we cling to them, because we "need" them. Need them for what? Did God not tell us not to worry about what we would eat or drink, and promise that we would be taken care of even more than the birds of the air or the lilies of the valley? He tells us to seek his kingdom first and then all these things will be given to us. Do we not trust God to keep his word? Matthew 6:19-21 says not to store up treasures on earth, but to store them in heaven instead. It ends by saying, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So where is your treasure? Is it being used to further the kingdom of God, or put away to buy things for yourself, and make your life comfortable? Do we have the right to live comfortable lives when others are dying in the world due to lack of water, food, and basic medical care? I'm not so sure. I know I don't have all the answers, but I do know that God is growing me in this area. I still have a long ways to go though. Ray and I pray daily that God will open our hearts to a world in need. I want to have a heart like God's, but I struggle with my inner-self as well, which is selfish and wants what I want. I do believe though that through continued prayer and submission that God has the power to change even someone like me. We likewise pray that he will change the hearts of Christians around the world until we can all learn to do everything to the glory of God.