Spiritual Sundays

Matthew 19:16-22

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

"Which ones?" the man inquired.

Jesus replied, "Don't not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do no five false testimony, honor your father and mother, and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'

"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

LL&L two cents:

Some people look at this scripture and see a greedy young man but for some reason my heart goes out to him. The first sentence helps to see another side; this man made time to talk with Jesus. He really wanted to know how to have eternal life so instead of going to a priest or making up an answer that suits his sensibility he when to Jesus instead. He had wealth and at the very least some spirituality; still he knew there was something missing and he wanted to do something about it. Without anyone else telling him he knew that following the commandments was not enough, he was starting to notice a void and recognized that it would only be filled spiritually. He really wanted an answer, but did not like the answer he received so he walked away unchanged and sad.

Though I have respect for the rich young man I still think he missed two major points: he already did what was required to have eternal life, and it was his choice if he wanted to pursue perfection. The young man asked Jesus which commands had to be followed to achieve eternal life and Jesus named 6 commands. Just in case you don't know the bible is filled with commands, too many to count. There were 10 commandments, but there were many rules and laws that God's people were to follow. The laws were supposed to be enforced but it was a small part of a big plan that God had from the beginning; a plan that includes salvation for us and a strong and healthy relationship with Him.

Something else that catches my attention is when Jesus said, "There is only One who is good…" This was in response to the young man asking, "…what good thing must I do to seek eternal life…" When you have some time just meditate on the first three sentences, Mt 19:16, 17; say them out loud a few times, say them silently to yourself, ask yourself why would the young man ask that question, ask yourself what did Jesus mean, say a silent prayer asking God for clarification and then just sit still, clear your thoughts, focus on your breath and be still. Try to meditate on this for 5-30 minutes………………or just skip ahead and read what I think.

I think that God does not expect us to be perfect; we put that on ourselves and then blame Him when we find out that perfection is impossible. All He expects from us is to love him with our whole heart, body, mind and soul and he wants us to love our neighbors as we love of selves. Sometimes I think we switch that command around: to love our friends and family with our whole selves and we love God as we love ourselves (half hearted, unconsciously and conditionally). The problem with that is without God we are incomplete and we will have a void in our lives. A void that we will try to fill with other things: big homes, job promotions, perfect parenting or even harmful pursuits like drug abuse. I believe that without God in our lives it is impossible to ever achieve balance.

I'm sure you've heard the saying that money is the root of all evil and so some Christians believe that you are far from God when you desire wealth. I don't believe that it is wrong to acquire or desire wealth. 1 Timothy 6: 10 helps to articulate my understanding about wealth, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." The bible communicates that it is difficult to balance pursuit of wealth with worshipping God but as Jesus states in later in Matthew 19:26, "…With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Our separation from God is not because of wealth and is not because we sin. The separation comes when we try to do things without God. One of the major pitfalls in our relationship with God is that man has limited resources and capabilities. When we attempt to go it alone it is hard to see God' promises fulfilled, hard to believe that "…with God all things are possible." The more activities that we exclude God from, the harder it is for us to trust Him.

I believe that most people live out of balance. Sometimes in the chaos of life or because of strong attachment to a dream or goal it is easy to forget that you have many different needs. Our life is consists of many parts: seeking spiritual and ethical answers, maintaining mental and emotional health, meditating to achieving awareness, learning and experiencing from other cultures, maintaining or obtaining physical wellness, improving your and finding new talents, acquiring knowledge through education and excelling in a career, earning and managing money, exploring your passions, conquering your fears, and maintaining loving relationships. If you go through life unaware of the world around you will become detached from yourself and become unable to recognize when a need goes unmet. The solution is simple; if you want a balanced and fulfilling life seek God with your whole heart.

Money Can't Buy Me love

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you…"