Rich or Not Rich? That is the Question!

Luke 18:22 ESV

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."

Its funny.  I used to look at this vs. and missed the point entirely.   You see when it says "Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven" I read that as money in this world will lead you astray, go get rid of it.  In my mind I even added don't try to accumulate any more.  That is not what is being said at all.  I asked a few questions to find out what is being said. 

What is the one thing the young ruler lacks?  It isn't treasure in heaven.  Jesus says he can have that by getting rid of his earthly treasures.  That would be a one to one change out. One treasure for another.  The one thing Jesus offers the ruler that he doesn't already have is everything he needs.  Jesus offers Himself "come, follow me".

Is this vs. denouncing the accumulation of wealth?  I don't think so.  When I weigh this to the Bible and to the way Jesus teaches, I think Jesus is giving us a lesson on how to handle accumulated wealth. 

In conclusion it would appear that some word redefinition is in order as well as a new way of working with the wealth we accumulate, and finally we have some memory work so as to remember the truth.

We need to redefine richness.   Richness is having everything you need.  The reality is that all of us only have one need and it is the same for all of us. Jesus! 

We need to recognize that wealth is not the answer to the broken state of this world.  It can make living here easier in ways. There is no doubt of this relief and that is the very reason we must share the wealth that we accumulate.   Sharing to the point of brokenness if necessary.  Lets face it, the wealth was accumulated in the first place, it can be accumulated again.  Also as I stated wealth is not the answer, Jesus is.

Remember this as I pray it will help us keep perspective. 

One can be rich and not wealthy.  One can be wealthy and not rich.  One can be both.  But without Christ one will assuredly be neither. 

Christ is everything that we need.