“Go and sell everything you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. We are left to wonder if the riches were controlling this young man. Jesus did not force the rich young man to follow him. Jesus gave him a choice. We know that only in God will we find true happiness. TV commercials, advertisements etc. try to convince us that happiness can be found if we own this … or travel to this place … or by doing this …. whatever the “this” may be. However, in believing that, we too will only walk away sad.
The First Commandment says: I am the Lord your God, you shall not have strange gods before me. This commandment invites each one of us to ask the question:
Do I place God first in my life above everything else? Do I depend on God with a childlike trust, knowing that He is leading me every moment of my life?
Power, status, fame, prestige, money are not requirements for entry into the everlasting Kingdom of God. We read in today’s Letter to the Hebrews: No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. So the decisions we make in this life determine our happiness in eternal life.
Will this gospel passage reveal to us what is controlling our lives, our time? We must always decide for Jesus – otherwise we too will walk away sad.
Solomon was not born with wisdom, he prayed for it. Solomon asked God for wisdom above the riches and power befitting of a king. Let Solomon’s prayer be ours as well: I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. May God bless us abundantly with wisdom to always discern His Will!
Deacon Mike