“And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must 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 commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” -Luke 18:18-23

Many of us have heard this story of the rich young ruler. The NLT actually calls him a religious leader, but I already made the picture. You understand. Whoever this man was, he had it going on: power, possessions, position and prestige. He had even kept all the commandments to the best of his ability. By Jewish standards, you’d think he would be feeling secure regarding his eternal destination.

Did this man ask Jesus the question so he’d have the opportunity to brag about his righteousness? Had he overheard Jesus speaking of the kingdom of God in strange and mysterious ways? Could he still have confidence in his “goodness” thus far in keeping all the commandments or were there new rules? He was a darn good rule keeper, after all.

Jesus’ answer threw him, and the rich young ruler went away sad.

I’ve read this passage countless times, but the last time I read it I came to a startling, jaw-dropping conclusion:

It’s been right here all along, and finally it’s crystal clear: having money is bad. Jesus wants us all to take a vow of poverty and re-distribute our wealth.

Socialism is one and the same as Biblical Christianity.

I’M KIDDING.

It doesn’t mean that AT ALL.

Not all Christians are called to sell all their stuff and give it to the poor.

The world can try to make the case that any believer who hasn’t gone the Mother Teresa route isn’t Christian enough. Don’t want to be volun-told by the government to give your hard-earned money to support non-binary, left-handed welders in Guatemala? How selfish. What kind of Christian are you?

One with common sense, maybe?

Jesus was speaking to a rich young ruler who had outwardly gone through all the motions but still didn’t recognize one thing: that to truly inherit the kingdom of God, we have to submit to the Lordship of Christ. He is not only a “good teacher”, as the RYR supposed. He is the King of the universe.

This command was meant to expose the idolatry in the young man’s heart, and boy, did it.

His wealth was his god, and he got called on it.

We all have idols in our life, and Jesus may well call us to lay some of them down because they are distractions or lead us into outright sin. What will be a blessing in the hands of one person might wreak havoc in the life of another.

Wealth. Status. Relationships. Food. Drink. Talents.

All are gifts that can be beautiful when humbly submitted to the Lordship of Christ. And if you’re obedient and generous with little, watch out, because God might just entrust you with more.

A wealthy Christian can do a heck of a lot of good. Sure, they might have a big house, but how do you know they aren’t buying cars for single moms or feeding impoverished children all over the world? Did you know Christians blow every other demographic out of the water when it comes to charitable giving, both historically and currently? Wealth (or any good gift) in the hands of a person committed to God’s purposes can be a powerful thing.

Money isn’t evil. It’s just when you love it more than God that it becomes a problem.

So how do we know if something is an idol?

Here’s a couple questions I find helpful:

1. What is my heart posture? Am I committed to honoring God and loving others in this area?

2. Has Jesus given me peace to enjoy this good thing or is he asking me to set it aside?

Are you good? Carry on, then. Accept the gift with a grateful heart and use it to further God’s kingdom. If he asks you to let go of something, though, don’t hesitate. God knows what we need and what we need to get free of.

Don’t walk around with guilt Jesus never asked you to carry. And for heaven’s sake, don’t lay guilt traps for other Christians! Our friend Ken told a story of a pastor he met with who sadly asked him, “How junky does my car need to be for me to be holy?” Sounds like there was a lot of unbiblical expectations for that pastor to live as poor as a…church mouse. Yuck. If that’s true I was really killing it driving my Mitsubishi Galant with water on the floorboard and a window that wouldn’t roll down. Maybe the guy just wanted reliable transportation.

Discernment is good (why no, creepy prosperity preachers probably, definitely, do not need private jets). Nitpicking other believers out of jealousy or discontent is not. If God doesn’t condemn something, who are we to do so?

Also, while we are to live life in a posture of wisdom and love; honoring others above ourselves (i.e. don’t bring a Cosmo to an AA meeting), we are not called to be enslaved to extra-Biblical convictions held by other people. As my friend Angie said the other day, “That’s just exhausting!”.

Love God. Love people. And in the words of my favorite podcaster/pastor, Josh Howerton: “Live free.”

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. ~ Galatians 5:13