Matthew 19:16-22
‘And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.’
This passage used to trouble me. I related to a degree with this guy. Not that I had riches, but more that I continuously would scan myself trying to unearth a sin. That’s where our similarities end. I had a poor understanding of grace and forgiveness. The person in the story was struggling with idolatry.
Jesus nailed his problem. His idol was riches. Jesus called this out. At the time the guy couldn’t do it. I recall pastor Chuck Smith teaching on this passage. He commented that he expects to see him in heaven. Meaning that he eventually did what Jesus suggested.
Does this mean we must give away all our riches? No, but we must be willing to. God will work on us in the areas that we need adjustments. The passage reminds me of Abraham and Isaac. He was brought to the point of sacrificing his son then God told him to stop. Are we willing to give it up?
This act determines who or what is our god. Is it riches or the Lord? We all have our areas in which we struggle. If they’ve been dealt with in the past doesn’t mean we won’t deal with them again.
Quoting pastor Chuck again, he would say to have a light touch on things. If our grasp is too tight, then it is in danger of being an idol. Loosen the grip.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t be afraid of God continually asking us to give up our prized possessions. We can trust Him. Also, the blessings we’ve got probably came from Him.
As a new christian my grasp on this particular car was too tight. I didn’t have it yet, but was looking to buy one. I began to feel guilty about it, so I gave it up. Looking back I’m not sure if it was a never or a not yet. No matter, I vowed to give it up. Decades later I got into old cars again. I’ve had several cool ones and feel I’ve got another great car now. I feel He enjoys my dabbling in the hobby and feel like He blesses it.
Lord, thank You for working in our lives. You help us have a proper place for things in our lives. Help us to keep You on the throne, not some idol.