Wealth has a way of dividing us. It separates us into the haves and have not’s. Wealth, or the lack thereof, often dictates our politics. Whether it is because we want to keep more of it for ourselves, or want to have greater opportunities to make more it for ourselves, money might be the biggest factor influencing the decisions we make. Wealth, and its ability to polarize us, even makes its way into the Bible, specifically in the instance of the rich young man and his conversation with Jesus. We learn a number of things as observers of this timeless conversation, and some of them are likely to clash with what society tells us about the importance of money, and how we evaluate success.
The first thing we learn is that riches can be an obstacle to discipleship. The more stuff we have, the more we stand to lose, and the more we might be required to sacrifice for the kingdom of God. Jesus begins on a very basic level by affirming the principles found in the Ten Commandments. William Lane points out that in Jesus' response, “His affirmation of the commandments is a demand for obedient action which recognizes both the sovereignty of God and the existence of the neighbor.” To inherit eternal life, we must maintain faithfulness to God and neighbor by refraining from destructive actions that harm others. No lying, no stealing, no defrauding, no committing adultery, and certainly no murdering! Even in our day, we consider ourselves good if we can avoid all the "major" sins that Jesus mentions here. And yet, more is required. It is not enough to abstain for the bad; we must be proactive in doing good. Part of doing good is giving up everything in order to follow God, which is exactly what Jesus asks the rich young man to do. In his Letter to Hilarious, Augustine states that "one who gives up both what one owns and what one desires to own, gives up the whole world." Augustine's point I think, is that discipleship requires more than just giving a cut of our earnings to God, it's about surrendering our future, the dreams we have for ourselves, to God's agenda. If Jesus had simply asked the man to tithe, he probably would have gladly complied. However, Jesus' demands are of an ongoing nature, and have the potential to radically disrupt the young man's life permanently. In the man’s failure to follow, we should find an appreciation for the disciples’ willingness to leave everything and follow Jesus. The disciples make their fair share of mistakes, but they follow.
The next thing we learn is that being poor has its advantages. Clearly my intention is not to trivialize the plight of those who spend each day wondering where their next meal will come from. Jesus statement is not relieving us of our responsibility to provide for the needs of the less fortunate. What it is doing is revealing a simple truth. The more we have, the more we fall under the illusion that we are in some way self-sufficient. In Jesus’ day, wealth was taken to be a sign of blessing. If you had money, clearly God was pleased with you. Jesus isn’t using class warfare here, what he’s doing is saying that even the people they esteemed to be the most righteous couldn’t enter into the kingdom of God of their own accord. The realization of the impossibility shakes the disciples to the core, and opens up the opportunity for Jesus’ to reveal salvation as an act of grace on the part of God. Jesus is not excluding the rich from the kingdom of God, he is excluding all humans who seek to arrive there through their own efforts. You see then that Jesus is requiring the man to sell the very thing which would have been a sign to others of God’s favor. The rich young man can’t let go of his wealth, because his wealth is where he finds his identity. It’s a mark of his success, and to many it’s a sign that his righteousness has been rewarded. In inviting the man to sell all his possessions, He is inviting him to scrap the notion of self-righteous, and embrace total reliance on God. It is easier for the homeless refugee in Africa to recognize his or her dependence on God, than for the upper-middle class American who has “earned” their blessings through education, hard-work, and responsibility. If riches sometimes blind us to our dependence on God, then it is certainly easier for the poor to recognize that dependence, as there is less to blind them to the reality of our need for God.
It’s a challenging thing, to let go of the things of this world in order to follow Jesus Christ. And yet, Jesus points out that to follow Him is not without reward. Obviously the hope of eternal life and redemption loom large in any discussion of the rewards which Christians receive. However, one that is often overlooked is the spiritual family that we receive when we embark on our walk with Christ. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is those who accompany us on the journey. In his Conferences, John Cassian touches on this point by echoing the words of Jesus from this passage, ““you have each left but one father and mother and home, and as you have done so you have gained without any effort or care countless fathers and mothers and brothers, as well as houses and lands and most faithful servants, in any part of the world to which you go, who receive you as their own family, and welcome, and respect, and take care of you with the utmost attention.” I have learned in a very real way how true Jesus’ words are. I readily admit that I was somewhat anxious about moving 600 miles from my family, alone, to take up the work of ministry amongst a group of strangers. I quickly learned though, that there are no strangers in the body of Christ. I have been welcomed into countless homes and enjoyed meals at many tables, as my brothers and sisters in Christ sought to make me feel at home in my new life here. My experience is one that is common among ministers, and even among those who relocate for careers or other reasons, and are welcomed into new church families. More compelling is the story of the Ehimare family, who journeyed halfway across the world from Nigeria to Atlanta, Georgia to receive medical care for Ose as she prepared to give birth to quadruplets. In a foreign land, preparing to go through a challenging and yet joyous time in the best-case scenario, the Ehimare’s were quickly adopted by my church family, the Northlake Church of Christ. Members provided lodging, food, child-care (imagine caring for four newborns!), and even threw them a baby shower. The story stands out to me as what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. The love and fellowship found in Christ transcends language, nationality, or any other thing that divides us, and in itself is a gift of far greater value than anything we might sacrifice in the service of Christ. In returning to the rich young man’s question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”, perhaps a good place to start is in realizing that it has a lot less to do with what I must do, and a lot more to do with what God has done. A good place to start is eliminating everything in our life that clouds our ability to clearly recognize God’s grace, whether that be wealth, relationships, or our own selfish pride.
You can read more about the Ehimare family and their story in this Christian Chronicle article:
Really enjoyable post.Like it very much.So thanks for post it.
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