Lacking One Thing...

Mark 10:17-31.

This segment of scriptures records the account of a righteous man who asked Jesus what to do to inherit eternal life. Although he had led a good life he lacked one thing… he was told to sell what he had, give the proceeds to the poor and follow Jesus.

I think this passage has limited application for Christians today (after all we are not instructed to sell all that we have and give it to the poor). Still passages like this cause me to examine myself as to whether or not I have the proper attitude towards money. I guess one way to find out would be to sell it all and become poor… that seems a little extreme.

Another way to find out would be to see if I could give away small amounts of money to the poor… that would be less extreme. If I am unwilling to give even small amounts then certainly giving away everything would be a moot point. Not that giving away small amounts equates to giving away everything but it is an indication that the right attitude is in place.

The man in this passage is not called “rich” but he had “great possessions”… the same thing really. A lot of times during a period of self examination we ask the question, “What does rich really mean”… am I really rich? Would this apply to me? We can answer that question by first answering this one, “What does being poor really mean”?

Being poor in Jesus time meant being abjectly poor; limited clothing, shelter and food. That rarely describes the poor we deal with today. And yet if one were abjectly poor, like in New Testament times, then anyone who had plentiful clothing, shelter and food would be “rich” in comparison and bear some responsibility to the “poor”. The simple answer is, in comparison to the poor… yes we are rich.

I have mixed feelings about the “righteous man”. I hope that like Peter I would have turned my back on everything and immediately followed Jesus, but I have a fear that like the “righteous man with great possessions” I would have walked off “sorrowfully”.

Fortunately, we have not been charged to sell all that we have, but we have been charged with the responsibility to have compassion on those who have needs. Let’s not be too hard on that “righteous guy” if we can’t even help on a minimal level.