THE CHOICE: MONEY OR JESUS? By Ken Primeau

Scripture
And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to Him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” “You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.” And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those we are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”
And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Mark 10: 17-25

Observation
This story in Mark is jam packed with meaning. A rich guy comes to Jesus and asks how he can inherit eternal life. This Jewish man was well versed in the Old Testament scripture. He knew the 10 commandments and what God required of him. Of the 10 commandments, three are about our relationship with God (no idols, no using His name in vain, keep the Sabbath) while the other seven deal with our relationships with other people. Jesus says to the rich man, “You know the commandments” and then he lists off 6 of the 7 people-oriented commandments, intentionally leaving out one, as if to elaborately highlight it for the man. This Jewish man most likely was aware of the one that was left out. The commandment not mentioned is “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.” This man was sinful in that he coveted the possessions of others. His treasure was located in his wealth. He probably compared himself to others and always tried to one up them by having more.
Jesus then then teaches his disciples that it is hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God. What does He mean by this? Jesus is essentially saying, it is harder for God to rule a rich person’s life than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. It’s hard, because the rich person submits more to their money than they will to God’s reign.

Application
Most of us read this story and place ourselves as characters alongside the disciples. We are simply learning from Jesus as he points out the faults of the rich man. Something inside of me whispers, “You are that rich man”. We in America are truly rich by the world’s standards. We might not feel rich, because our neighbor has more. There are always people who will have more than us, but if we look at the big picture, most of us are in the top 10 percentile worldwide (probably even higher). We are rich and have so much to spare.
Jesus prods us with the same question, “are you more loyal to your money and your desire to possess more, or are you loyal to my kingdom rule? Would you be willing to give up everything and just follow me?”

As I read these words, it makes me realize how much I love my money. I’m not rich compared with lots of other people around me, but I am rich because I have much more than I need. It’s not easy for me to give away my money or possessions. But Jesus calls me to abandon everything and follow him. I can’t trust in money, I only trust in Him.

Prayer
“Lord, help me to separate my heart from my money. I want to be willing to do and use money however you ask me to. Help me to become more generous and less covetous. IJNA.”