THE PRICE FOR WEALTH: There are many who will make any sacrifice to obtain riches. In robbing, stealing, and drug dealing, some have even given their life in exchange for riches. But which is of greater value? Great riches or your soul?
In the Bible, God has provides us with practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and we are given instructions on how to manage the resources He has given us.
In this series,
From a biblical perspective, we are looking at how to effectively manage the resources God has given us while prioritizing What Really Matters.
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Let’s Pray
God Most High, help us get our priorities straight. Money does have value, and we need to earn money to live in this world but help us not allow our quest for money cause us to lose out on eternity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Not much is known about this young man except in the Bible, he is called the rich young ruler who came to Jesus.
One thing for sure is that this man was young. He had a lot of money and many possessions. He was also a ruler or manager. However, the Bible does not reveal what he was managing.
It is evident that he was energetic and interested in spiritual things. The scripture tells us that he didn’t just come to Jesus. He ran to Jesus! This young man was excited to learn more about living eternally.
Apparently, the story about this rich young ruler is so important that it was recorded in three of the books in the Bible: Matthew 19:16–22; Mark 10:17–22; and Luke 18:18–23.
Matthew 19:16-22 says:
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Like Mark and Luke, Matthew in Mathew 19:21 quotes Jesus saying,
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21)
Why would Jesus ask him to sell all his possession? Is this what Jesus expects of us?
No, the point here is not about selling all your possessions and giving them to the poor. Jesus doesn’t ask us all to sell everything we own and give the money to the poor.
The real issue here is the love of money!
In the case of the rich young ruler, He must have loved money and his possession more than he loved God.
It is evident that he valued his money and possessions more than he valued God. They were more important to him than God. Hence money had become his idol or false god.
Though Jesus’ answer may seem though, to some, Jesus loved this young man and desire nothing more than that he would be saved.
Jesus knew that this young man’s only hope of being saved was to sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor.
The sad thing is the Bible says that this young man went away very sad because he was very rich.
This lets us see just how much this young man loved his money and possession.
Jesus offered the young man everlasting life. Is that not why he came running to Jesus?
As he had asked his other disciples, Jesus asked him to “Come, follow Me.” But the odd thing is we never hear about this young man again. Why?
Because he traded everlasting life for all the treasures and riches, he had in this life. He wanted immediate gratification. For more information on immediate vs. delayed gratification, view Lesson 6: Laying Up Treasure in Heaven @ SabbathSchoolDaily.com
Sadly, this young man made a terrible choice! He did not want to give up his riches to follow Jesus.
You see, riches may appear to give us immediate gratification. But immediate gratification is a deception because no matter what wealth and material possession can give us now, sooner or later, we all die and face the prospect of eternity. And except we choose to follow Jesus, we will not experience eternal life.
So, we want to make the right choices now. Then when he comes, we will be ready to meet Him.
Many wealthy people have discovered that their wealth didn’t give them the peace and happiness they had hoped for. And in most cases, they were made miserable. One of the best examples is found in Ecclesiastes, in which King Solomon, the richest man who ever lived, talks about how riches do not make us happy. He says in
Ecclesiastes 5:13
13 There is something very wrong which I have seen under the sun: Riches being kept by the owner and he is hurt by them. (Ecclesiastes 5:13 NLV)
Whatever other lessons one can take from what King Solomon is saying, the one point that comes through loud and clear is that money cannot buy peace and happiness.
In Mark 8:35–37, Jesus says:
35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:35, NKJV).
Listen to what it says in the book Counsel on Stewardship:
There are many professed Christians… who will make any sacrifice in order to gain riches, and the more successful they are in obtaining the object of their desires, the less they care for the precious truth and its advancement in the world. They lose their love for God and act like people who are insane. The more they prosper in material wealth, the less they invest in the cause of God.
The works of those who have an insane love for riches make it evident that it is impossible to serve two masters, God, and mammon. They show the world that money is their god. They yield their homage to its power, and to all intents and purposes, they serve the world.
In other words, the love of money becomes a ruling power, and for its sake, they violate the law of God.—Counsels on Stewardship, pp. 213, 214.
If money has become a ruling power in your life, no need to walk away like the rich young ruler. Turn it over to Jesus.
A man called Zacchaeus is an example of one with great riches who volunteered to give half of his riches to help the poor. How did he come to this decision?
Find out on Day 5: Zaachaeus
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