The Trouble with Treasures: Mark 10:17-31 - 20th Sunday after Pentecost

 ¹⁷As [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’ ” ²⁰He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²²When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

  ²³Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
  ²⁸Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, ³⁰who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (NRSV)

three hundred coins in a fountain 1 by erasmusa on flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

In 2007, a dog named “Trouble” inherited $12 million. 

Trouble was the little white Maltese belonging to the infamous hotelier Leona Helmsley, known also as the “Queen of Mean” for how poorly she treated her employees, and her conviction for tax-evasion in 1989.

When Helmsley died, her dog also inherited a Mercedes-Benz limousine, a diamond collar, a private chef serving her meals on silver plates, a full-time caretaker at an annual salary of $100K, an annual $8K grooming budget, and a full-time bodyguard at an annual salary of $98K.

Despite having the name Trouble, it is not known if she was a particularly good dog or if she reflected the eccentricities of her owner. Either way, there was only one thing she had to do to inherit $12 million: be a dog. 

It was silly for the rich young man in today’s gospel to ask Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He should know that you don’t do anything to receive an inheritance. You only need to have a relationship with someone who wants you to receive it. 

Chances are, he’s inherited wealth already—along with elite social status that came with it. But that’s not all he had going for him…

He’s kept all the commandments since his youth. And his prosperity was seen as a sure sign that he was in God’s favor.

Any way you slice it, he was set for life. Now, he wanted to make sure he was set for the afterlife.

The fact that he asks Jesus “what should I do” says something about how he lived. His wealth made him wholly self-sufficient; not dependent on anyone—including God. He could buy whatever he wanted—with either money or personal favors. But God does not deal with humanity in transactions. You cannot buy or work your way into God’s favor. God’s love, God’s forgiveness, and God’s salvation are free gifts, given without any merit or worthiness on the part of the recipient.

Therefore, Jesus could have said, “you don’t need to do anything,” and ended the conversation right then and there. 

But Jesus goes one big step further. “There is one thing you lack,” Jesus says. “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Keep in mind that Jesus didn’t speak these words to threaten or humiliate the young man. Jesus loved him. But his love for and attachment to his wealth made relationship an impossibility. 

There is no more sensitive subject in the Christian life than money—because so much of who you are is tied up in it. You worked hard for your money, and you naturally want something to show for it. Money is power to create the lifestyle you want to live. Money provides security amid life’s uncertainties. In our society, a person’s worth is measured by how much money they have. At the same time, money is the number one source of stress in life, and the number one destroyer of relationships—including relationships with God. We all know how quickly financial ruin can come with just one mistake, one accident, or one bad day on Wall Street.

We all know that money cannot buy happiness, and that the love of money is the root cause of all evil.

But when you see those commercials for Publishers’ Clearing House, have you ever wished that that was you being handed that giant check for millions of dollars? It is difficult to give up the belief that money will solve all your problems and make your life better. 

Meanwhile, so many of our neighbors here and around the world are in need. Society is always so quick to condescend to the less fortunate. But what does it say about you if you turn your back on the neighbor who needs what you have in abundance?

It all comes down to this: who has your love? Who has your trust? Almighty God or the almighty dollar? 

At the end of the day, your transformation matters more to God than your creature comforts and lifestyle ambitions! Your neighbor’s daily bread matters more to God than your enjoyment of privilege. Faith cannot flourish when you’re holding onto your stuff for dear life. Nothing in this world will change, either.

Jesus changed eternity for you by giving away everything he had, to give to you what you could not get for yourself. That’s what love does. I want you to consider: what ways has someone else’s generosity benefited you?

While you’re thinking about that, I wanna tell you a story.  Last month, a young girl came to our clothing closet. She was really excited with all the clothes she found, including a new dress. She returned about a half hour after she left with several items of her own in a bag, and personally put those donations on the racks. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you want to learn generosity, look to the children.

Today, I want to challenge you to give generously this week. Give away something you have which is valuable to you. Pray for Jesus to open your heart and your hands, because when you do, the love of Jesus will come rushing in. Generosity is what heals. Generosity is what makes life more livable. Generosity makes God’s love a reality. If you give something away and regret it, turn in the receipt and we’ll reimburse you. That’s how sure I am that you will find the joy of the Lord when you let go, give away, and put your trust in the awesome love of Jesus.