Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” ( 1 Timothy 6:7-12, NKJV). But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness (“real, true, vital, and spiritual relation with God”), faith, love, patience, gentleness. For the love (“coveting”) of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness (“do anything to get it”), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation (“experiences of evil”) and a snare (“a trap, as fastened by a noose or notch”), and into many foolish and harmful lusts (“a longing for what is forbidden”) which drown men in destruction (“ruin, death, punishment”) and perdition (“waste, ruin or loss: physical, spiritual or eternal”). And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content (“satisfied”). When I commented to the person I was with about it, he mentioned to me that she was a well-known millionaire! Money had so bound her up that it forced her to become a street beggar!! Let us not forget what the Bible says: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. I remember being in an Asian city where I saw a lady sitting on the street begging. I am told that the highest suicide rates in the world are actually among the millionaires! What they thought and believed would give them the satisfaction they were looking for turned out to be the opposite to that which they believed. Unfortunately many people today are consumed by the desire for more money, riches, etc., thinking that it holds the key to a happy and fulfilled life.
It was such a strong hindrance and bondage in his life that he was unwilling to yield it to Jesus to find the fulfilment he was seeking for ~ even after Jesus poured His love to him! His riches did not give him the ideal in life that he was seeking.
THE RICH YOUNG RULER FULL
The hindrance to the rich young ruler finding the answers to what he lacked in life was that his riches came before a true and full commitment to God through Jesus Christ. It is a different kind of life to that which the world gives us. Jesus came to give us “life and life more abundantly” ( John 10:10). When Jesus is Lord and alive in our heart, we do not want to steal, commit murder, adultery, etc. And when Jesus Christ is Lord of our life, we do not need a set of ‘rules and regulations’ to live by. The only way we can fulfil those commandments is for us to have Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord of our life. Here is something to consider: it is impossible to keep the Ten Commandments and find fulfilment if Jesus is not Lord of our life. Yet they did not fulfil him and give him the satisfaction in life that he was seeking even though he said he was keeping the commandments of God. Obviously his riches had a powerful hold on his life. It is hard for me to imagine how someone could have such personal attention and love from Jesus, and still turn away. Yet the young man could not receive the word and love of Jesus, and turned away sorrowful. That would have been a very powerful experience. As Jesus looked at him He poured in the love of God to him as an individual. Here the young ruler is on the receiving end of Jesus’ personal, one-on-one conversation and love. When the ruler told Jesus that he had kept all the commandments, Mark 10:21 tells us: “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him.
Jesus then gave him a word of knowledge about him being rich and told him to go and sell his possessions, give them to the poor and then come and follow Jesus. When Jesus told him, he replied that he had kept them from his youth ~ yet he knew he still lacked something in his life something was missing. He then asked Jesus what the commandments were. He obviously was a young man of great potential. He addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher” ( Mark 10:17). He had a strong enough desire to seek for the answers to life to go to Jesus and ask. He is enquiring of Jesus of the way to eternal life. In Mark’s Gospel 10:17-27 we have the account of a rich young ruler coming to Jesus (also recorded in Matthew 19:16-26).
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