I hear a lot about the rich young ruler in churches today. Seems he’s a favorite for quick offering speeches everywhere. And preachers take a million and one approaches regarding what Jesus was really saying to this dude.
- Jesus was saying that money is bad
- Jesus was saying that the love of money was bad (at least this one has the verse right!).
- Jesus was saying money controls us
- Jesus was saying money can control us
- Jesus was saying that money can take the place of God
- Jesus was saying that the world values youth, wealth and health
- Jesus was saying we need to leave everything to follow Him.
- Jesus was saying we only need to want to leave everything and follow Him
Seems Jesus was saying a whole lot that was never actually said, huh?
But that’s true for a lot of the Bible—that’s why it’s a living book. We will never truly plumb the depths of it should we live a thousand lifetimes.
So, how bout we tackle just the two most common thoughts about this story?
1. Is Jesus asking all followers to sell everything they have in order to follow Him?
This is a deal breaker for a lot of people—the thought that Jesus came to take everything away—sort of like a reverse Santa Claus. Or, at the very least, that the Bible teaches this—a reverse Santa Claus, Clause.
But does the Bible teach this? Was Jesus demanding this of everyone?
Clearly not, because God often blessed people with wealth. Solomon and his father David come to mind—as does Abraham, and even his loser nephew, Lot. In fact, God loves to bestow gifts upon His children.
In other words, if a comparison of other texts that speak to this same subject seem to say something different—than we know Jesus was after something different as well—God’s Word does not contradict itself.
Now would be a good time to show you one of the most abused verses in all the Bible regarding this stuff. It’s 1 Timothy 6:10
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
Two parts of this verse are often misquoted—usually by legalists who want to impose their rules on others. First, people say “Money is the root of all evil” when the text says that it is the “love” of money. Second, notice that the text never even says, ‘all’ evil. It says ‘all kinds of evil.’
What’s the difference?
It may seem subtle, but it means that there are plenty of other attitudes of the heart that lead to different sins besides the love of money. When it comes to sin we need to give mankind a little more credit—we can sin far, far outside the one little box of money. Just look around at our culture.
But I digress.
So, Jesus isn’t asking everyone to go sell everything before they can follow Him—who would support those on the mission field? Or in full time Christian work? Churches? Para-church organizations? Charities?
No one—because everyone would have sold all they have to secular humanists who have absolutely no interest in the things of God and would therefore dry up the work of the Lord overnight.
No, Jesus was after the man’s heart and devotion. Sadly that already belonged to another—His Stuff.
2. Jesus is after whatever it takes to get us to follow Him unreservedly and with all of our heart.
This is what Jesus was really after—it’s what Jesus is still after. For this particular dude, Jesus knew his possessions were possessing him. So the first thing this man needed to be set free was to break the hold money had on his heart. Again, possessions aren’t wrong—but when they begin to dictate how we spend our time and how we make decisions—we’re in trouble.
Jesus was dealing with the particular issue in this particular man’s life that was holding him back. In your life, in my life, the issue could be completely different.
So, how do we know?
Are you sure you’re ready for this? You may not like the answer. In fact, if you’re not ready—don’t continue to the last, scary, part!…
How did you feel when I said Jesus was not always asking everyone to sell all their stuff in order to come follow Him?
- A little sad? Because you were ready to sacrifice all?
- Up for the challenge?
- Fine. You would do whatever He asks anyway?
OR
- incredibly comforted?
- Did you sigh a deep, deep sigh of relief?
- Ready to break down and weep? (Ok, if you were this pathetic, you ARE the rich young ruler!)
One thing this text does show us is that sometimes Jesus will ask some followers to leave their stuff behind in order to really follow Him with their whole heart.
And who are these people likely to be?
The ones greatest relieved when they discover that Jesus won’t make you give up your stuff. The one’s most likely to pick our stuff over Jesus.
The one’s most like the rich, young, ruler.