Jesus and the Rich Man

"As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. 'Good teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’

'Teacher,' he declared, 'all these I have kept since I was a boy.'

Jesus looked at him and loved him. 'One thing you lack,' he said. 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth."


(MARK 10:17-22)


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I've heard this story a thousand times and have taught about it a handful of times, but the application has almost always been the same:

Don't be like this wealthy man.

Why?

Like many people, he was curious - curious about what action he needed to take in this life in order to ensure that he would be taken care of in the next (in the "age to come").  

"What must I do to inherit eternal life?", he asked.

And so he came to Jesus to ask his question and when Jesus challenged him to sell all of his stuff and give the profits to the poor in order to ready himself for life in the Kingdom of God, he went away sad.  

Why did he go away sad? Who knows. We aren't told, but we tend to assume that he went away sad because he chose NOT to sell his stuff and, therefore, realized he would be unable to inherit the eternal life he so desperately wanted.

We imagine him drooping his head down low and walking away muttering to himself ...

"I can't possibly do that."

"What a bummer."

"That's a shame."

"I guess I'll never receive eternal life."

BUT.

Does the text say that?  Although we can certainly read it INTO the story, I'm not so sure it's actually IN the story and so that frees us up to imagine and wonder, "what if there's another way to look at this story?"

This is one of the things I LOVE about the Bible.  Richard Rohr once said that the Bible is like a diamond in that every time you turn a story so that the light hits it in a slightly different way, you see something you never quite saw before. 

I think this is one of those stories.

For all of my life I've read it in one way, but recent developments in my own personal life have helped me turn the story a little bit so that the light of my experiences touch it in a way that I've never quite noticed before. 

Because ... what if the rich man went away sad not because he chose to hoard all of his stuff, but because he had actually decided to give it all away?

And what if his sadness, then, is meant to show us that sometimes taking the first step to generating lasting change in our lives that will better our life and the lives of the those around us is really, really hard?

Quitting your job to follow a dream.

Picking up the phone to call the doctor.

Making the first appointment with a therapist.

Having that conversation with your spouse.

Confronting a family member on their toxic behavior.

When the Spirit nudges us to do something, sometimes "selling all you have" can be a hard and emotional experience.  Right?  Even though you know that the rewards will be eternal and seemingly endless, your stomach still sinks and the tears still fall at the thought of loosening your grip on what you have in order to get what you ultimately need.

When you quit your job to follow your dream, you may have to sell your COMFORT.

When you pick up the phone to call the doctor, you may have to sell your UNHEALTHY HABITS.

When you make the first appointment with a therapist, you have to sell your UNHEALTHY PATTERNS.

When you have that conversation with your spouse, you may have to sell your PRIDE.

When you confront a family member on their toxic behavior, you may have to sell ... YOUR RELATIONSHIP.

I felt this when I quit my job at Apple (and then Starbucks - after just 2 shifts!) and decided to focus on the podcast as opposed to going to get another job.  Working for Apple for 11 years brought a certain level of comfort and safety ...

Decent hourly pay.

Amazing health benefits.

Stock options.

401k.

Mental health benefits.

... Although the job was sometimes grueling, the benefits were amazing and being there for 11 years provided me with a sense of tenure where I knew I had a job that wasn't going anywhere.

Leaving Apple behind to pursue this dream was invigorating, but leaving behind the comfort of the benefits and safety that Apple provided was scary.  Much like the Rich Man, my face fell at the thought of letting go of all that I had so that I could take hold of what my ...

Heart.

Mind.

Soul.

... Really needed - more time with my family, more time to do what I love, more space to use my gifts and passions all the time instead of just in my spare time.

Do you see what I mean?  

Perhaps the story of the Rich Man is telling us a profound truth about human development and the human condition - change is hard, change is scary, change can be an emotional experience ... and that first step is always the hardest, most painful.

BUT.

The Good News is that it's OK - you're not alone in that fear, that sadness, that grief.  This is the human story - one that was shared even by people who lived thousands of years ago in the ancient world of Jesus.  

You.

Are.

Not.

Alone.

Whatever change you're making, have recently made, or are entertaining making, know that there is someone around you who is or has recently experienced that same fear and that same grief in their own life change.  AND.  There are thousands of generations before you who have done the same.  

This is key, it's SO important .... because knowing that you aren't alone on the journey and remembering that others have felt exactly what you're feeling today ... it can act as tremendous fuel in nudging us forward.

Much love my friends.

✌🏻🤙🏻

Glenn Siepert