Day 162 "A heart cannot help but be divided between riches and God."

Day 162 Matthew 19:16-26 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 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.” 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,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 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.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Upon first reading of this passage, one might consider that Jesus was not being clear in His answer to this young ruler; however, a closer examination of the passage reveals some very interesting facts. This young ruler, first of all, was obviously educated and versed in the law. He understood the Ten Commandments as well as the fact that the religious leaders had expanded Moses’ law to include other commandments; hence, the question, "which ones?" when he was referring to the commandments that he must keep in order to receive eternal life. As you probably know, there were only Ten Commandments given to Moses on the mountaintop, and while those ten affect all of our lifestyle choices, the religious leaders, much like our own legislative branch today, had taken much liberty with interpretations of the law. Jesus, by His final response to this rich young ruler, was cutting to the chase so to speak. He was asking this young man if He could follow what Jesus would later say in Matthew 22:39 was the second greatest of all commandments: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." He wanted this young man to know that love for your fellow man had to be above the love of money, for if this was not the case, you would not be able to follow the remaining commandments. When love of self and money outweighs our love for everything else, it is virtually impossible to obey the Lord, for He places all mankind above all things, and if we love Him, we will desire to be like Him. This is not to say that being rich is wrong. I know many who are wealthy that are also the most generous of people; however, in this case, to this man there was nothing more important. If he truly wanted eternal life and truly loved God, he would have obeyed and trusted that the Lord would be his provision, not because all rich people should sell everything, but rather because that is what Jesus had asked of this one rich man because of his love for money. In essence, this young ruler wanted to work his way into the kingdom on his own, and Jesus was reminding him that no one could do that, for no man is good enough to enter into eternal life; all men need a savior to open the door. May we all do well to remember that we need Jesus more than anything else, and nothing else will allow us to achieve what we truly desire. Are you on the right track? Daily Prayer: Father, thank you for reminding us that serving you and our fellow man is far more important than striving for things that will not sustain us or draw us closer to you. Teach me more, I pray, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen. "A heart cannot help but be divided between riches and God." Pastor Gene Burroughs