Jesus’ Terrible Financial AdviceНамуна

The Wrong Good Thing

Few biblical passages terrify people living in a first-world country more than Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler on a quest for eternal life.  When Jesus tells him to give everything to the poor, the rich man goes away sad. And we wonder if He demands the same thing from us. Try as we might, no one can forget Jesus’ mother of all metaphors: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

By every account, Jesus’ disciples were “greatly astonished” (Matt. 19:25) and “amazed” (Mark 10:24) at His words. Who could be more deserving of eternal life than this wealthy, ruling, commandment-obeying young man? He was the Israelite version of the American Dream. They asked each other, “Who then can be saved?”  (Mark 10:26). 

Don’t wrongly conclude that this encounter is about the money, and go away thinking that rich people can’t make it, but poor people can. Jesus never says this. He clearly answers His disciples, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

In fact, the rich young man was looking for the wrong “good” thing from the outset, and Jesus wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to let him know that his search was misguided. We miss this, too, because we’re looking for the same wrong thing. Eternal life.

We want to get to heaven. Great destination, especially when we’ve considered the alternative.

But if we’re seeking heaven because our life here is so good that we don’t want it to end, or simply because we don’t want to go to hell, we’ve missed the point. We’ve made the same mistake this young man made.

So doing what Jesus always did, he redirected the young man to the right thing. He redirected the young man to God. Jesus clarifies that no one is good but God Himself.

Why? Because the young man, in his quest for eternal life, assumed that eternal life in and of itself was the good thing.

And he was wrong.

Whereas Jesus knows the truth. Anything other than God is the wrong “good” thing.

What makes eternal life good isn’t the length. It’s the company. God Himself is what is good about heaven. The gold streets, the many rooms, and the no departure date are all blessings, but they aren’t the highlight. He is.

And he was wrong.

Whereas Jesus knows the truth. Anything other than God is the wrong “good” thing.

What makes eternal life good isn’t the length. It’s the company. God Himself is what is good about heaven. The gold streets, the many rooms, and the no departure date are all blessings, but they aren’t the highlight. He is.