I started a new devotional about American excess. In the first chapter of this devotional the author talks about Matthew 19:16-22. Here is what stands out to me:
vs 16 The rich young ruler already knows that he is missing something in his life. Jesus doesn't walk up to him and tell him about how terrible he is and how he is doing everything wrong in life. Rather this young man has an intuition that something is missing in his walk with God and he approaches Jesus to ask about it.
vs 17 I really like how my pastor this past Sunday explained this verse. My pastor pointed out that this verse is Jesus saying that He is God and that He is part of the trinity because He is the "One" with the answers and He "is the only One who is good." This sets up the importance of the rest of this conversation....because He is God!
vs 20 Once again, the rich young ruler knows that even if he obeyed all the scriptural laws there is something still missing. He knows that something is missing from his life that is essential in order for him to get eternal life. This guy is smart.
vs 21 Jesus hits this guy where it hurts....his wallet. This young ruler was so close to his own obsessions, possessions, and sin that he couldn't see that his wealth was keeping him from God, but Jesus knew exactly what hindered this man's commitment to God. The reason that I believe that this passage is less about wealth and more about following God is because Jesus then says to come and follow Me. Jesus's instruction is 2-fold:
sell all of his possessions and give it to the poor
and Follow Me
There was something between him and Jesus. Wealth. Do I think wealth is what holds back all of us from following Jesus? No. Do I think it holds back most Americans? Yes. We are so close to our obsessions, our wealth, and our sin that we keep asking God, "what do I need to do, or not do, to make my walk better with You." But often its those things that we cling so tight to that we can't even see they are keeping us from God. These things can even be good: family, money, prosperity, comfort. I wholehearted believe that we could replace the "rich young ruler"
with the "family man" or "workaholic" or "fasionista" or "college scholar" or "athlete" or
"obsessive soccer mom." What is preventing us from following God?
BUT THEN, I'm right there with ya...All of the excuses come pouring into my brain. So then I am able to settle back in on my sofa and sleep peacefully tonight because I'm really not that bad. These are good and essential parts of life. But are they obsessions? Do they prevent me from "giving to the poor" (vs 21)? That seems like a pretty good gauge that even Jesus uses.
We may not "walk away sad" like the rich young ruler. But what is scarier to me is that maybe we actually walk away from Jesus's response with a blind sense of confidence that we are following Jesus, when in reality we are walking away from Jesus and back to our wealth and our castles (or our jobs, lifestyle, college, sports, whatever it is) with our heads held high!
You may be thinking, Elizabeth you're being a bit harsh don't you think? No. I don't think so. And the reason why is because of the next verse:
vs 23 "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
I like the disciples next question after Jesus uses this hyperbole....
And read my next post to hear how much I LOVE Jesus's response.
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