Mark 10:21 – 22 NIV: 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 will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
Not so long ago, I cleaned out one of the children’s closets. We made the decisions of what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away. The items that we kept had to be neatly stored and labeled. It reminded me of a time when I cleaned out my grandmother’s house. The beautiful china had collected filth over the years from lack of use. Many of the linens had to be discarded because of their poor condition. My grandmother loved those things. She loved them so much that she stored them in cabinets where they needed to be periodically washed, dusted, and otherwise cleaned.
It seems that the more “stuff” that we have — the more that the stuff owns us. It takes our time and our space. It requires our finances, our worry, and our fears.
In this case, the rich young ruler had to make a choice. Cling to his old ways and pride or sell his possessions and live humbly with Jesus. For the rich young ruler, it just wasn’t worth giving up his stuff.
Dear God, help me sort through what I need and can use to honor you and what should be passed along to someone who can use it. Please don’t let me put things in the way of worshiping you.
How do you measure up? Do you have things that keep you from having a real relationship with Jesus? Those things are called idols, and they are really dangerous. Join me in searching God for changes that we need to make and growing spiritually together through the revelation of His word.