Having It All or Not

Luke 18:23 - But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

Wouldn’t you like to be rich? Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry about paying your bills, saving for retirement, buying that nice car, and taking a dream vacation five times a year? Although there are certainly some rich jerks out there, there are plenty of nice wealthy people, too. Shouldn’t being good and rich be our objective?

In Luke 18, a rich young man who was also a good young man came up to Jesus. He wanted to the right thing. As far as we can tell, his question was sincere: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This is the most important question any of us can ask.

Jesus replied by mentioning the five of the Ten Commandments that deal with our earthly relationships: Do not commit adultery, theft, murder, or lying; and honor your father and mother. The young man claimed he had those down. Then Jesus asked one more thing of him that got to the heart of the issue: “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22)

Over the centuries, Christians have wondered what Jesus meant by that statement. Saint Francis of Assisi and others assumed you could not be wealthy and still follow Jesus. Yet, in I Tim 6:17 Paul did not tell the wealthy to become poor. Instead, he instructed them “not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” The question is not whether or not you are wealthy. The question is, “What is your relationship with your wealth?” Do you trust in it more than you trust in Jesus? Is it more important to you than he is? It seems that this was the problem for the rich young man. He put his hopes in his wealth.

Notice that he did want eternal life, and he certainly could have done what Jesus asked. He went away sad because he could not have it all. As long as money had the first place in his heart, there was no room for Jesus. There are many other things that can take that first place: other people, possessions, power, prestige, comfort… The list goes on. The real question we each must ask ourselves is, “What is first in my heart and life?”