That's not even close to what the parable of the Rich Young Ruler is about. Jesus went through a checklist with him of The Commandments and he passed. Well at least according to his testimony. And that was before they ever got to his money and possessions.
“Do not commit adultery” OK, this one may have been a pretty easy check mark, that is, if he knew nothing about lust as committing adultery in our hearts. Remember Jesus talking about that one?
I am still willing to give the rich young ruler the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he practiced a very disciplined life and did not feed his flesh with things that spur wrong thoughts. Let’s give him a check mark here.
“Do not murder” Of course, there’s that little “anger” issue that Christ discussed in Matthew About calling people fools, but let’s go ahead and give him a check mark on this one, too.
“Do not steal” Maybe we’ve never mugged someone on the street or even swiped candy from the convenience store, but did he ever secretly defraud or steal anything of a less tangible nature from another person? Perhaps so. I’m still willing to give him a check mark, but let me just say I’m impressed!
“Do not give false testimony” This command is simple: never tell anything false or untrue. Any exaggeration would fall under the category of false testimony. Picture us at age seventeen, talking to our friends on the telephone, giving our version of this story and that. Hopefully he never had time to fish and tell stories about the one that got away either. We can give him a check mark if he insists, but you better give me an X.
“Honor your father and mother” Let’s see. I hardly ever dishonored mine to their faces, but does it count if, behind their backs, I did a few things they told me not to do? Oops. Go ahead and give the wonder boy a check mark, but I get another X.
How did you fare throughout our game? Shall we call you perfection personified? Or is your halo slipping a bit? If we get honest, most of us will have to say, “I was thrown out of the game in the first inning, quarter, or whatever.”
Boy, am I thankful for a Savior! The rich young ruler needed one too. His good track record had certainly fogged up his mirror. Don’t get me wrong. I like him. I’m even impressed with him, but I’d rather be saved than be like him!
“YOU STILL LACK ONE THING.” (V. 22)
Christ’s response to the rich young ruler’s claim is best understood in Matthew 19:21: “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.’”
If this were a game show, the bell indicating the mention of the secret word would have just sounded. Eternal life with God demands perfection. Someone has to be perfect. Either us or someone who stands in for us and that would be Jesus. This man wanted so badly for it to be him. As good as he had been and as hard as he had tried, he was still lacking. Christ then stuck a pin in the rich young ruler’s Achilles’ heel: his possessions.
One of the primary purposes of this divine pinprick was to show the man he wasn’t perfect nor would he ever be. I really believe a second purpose may have been to offer an authentic invitation for the searching young man to follow Him. Remember, Jesus didn’t have only twelve disciples. He had twelve apostles among a greater number of disciples. If the rich young ruler had done what Christ suggested, could he have followed Him? Certainly!
He simply needed to lighten his load and be free of wealth’s encumbrances. A truckful of possessions would have proved cumbersome.
I also believe Christ had a purely benevolent purpose for the seemingly harsh demand. Jesus looked at this young man and saw a prisoner. The man wasn’t really the ruler. His possessions were. Jesus pointed him to the only path to freedom. Sometimes when our possessions have us, we have to get rid of them to be free. False Doctrine can be the same way.
Of course, Christ knew in advance what the young man would choose. When it comes right down to it, we all follow our “god” until we accept Jesus and follow him.
My point is if we going to use scripture to prove a point we at least should use the scripture correctly. Which didn't happen in the above post that I'm responding to.
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