A young rich man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? Jesus replied, “You have to obey the commandments.” And the young man said, “I have kept all these.” He asked proudly, “What do I still lack?” Actually, you don’t need a great deal of money to keep the commandments. In those days, helping neighbors was a way of love and was stated in the law. (Deuteronomy 15:7-11) Surely, that the young man would have done his best to help neighbors.
Jesus said to the man, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
But, the young man went away sad, because he had a great amount of money. Do you think he really knew about eternal life? He didn’t come to Jesus to get eternal life because he went away when he heard what Jesus said. He just wanted to be confirmed by the Lord that he was the right person to get eternal life if there is eternal life since he kept the commandments and helped neighbors.
After the young man left, Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven,” Why did Jesus say “A rich man is hard to enter the kingdom of heaven”? The rich man who Jesus mentioned is the one who is a slave to money thinking the money is the best portion in this world. If you became a slave to money, the money made you leave the Lord and be an enemy to the Lord. On the contrary, some rich people who know about the time of souls and prepare for it are busy storing up the wealth that they gained in this world in heaven.
Depending on the standard of the value of life, you can see where people put their hope. You must not make God be disappointed because of money. I hope you use your wealth in order to serve God by the wisdom of the Lord.
Pastor Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #700
