Mark 10:17-31 Enough Is Enough Grace 10/11/2009

A very wealthy man, old and desperately ill, summons to his bedside his three closest advisors: his doctor, his priest, and his lawyer.

"I know," he says, "they say you can't take it with you. But who knows? Suppose they're mistaken. I'd like to have something with me, just in case. So I am giving each of you an envelope containing one hundred thousand dollars and I would be grateful if at my funeral you would put the envelopes in my coffin, so that if it turns out that it's useful, I'll have something."

They each agree to carry out his wish.

Sure enough, after just a few weeks, the old man passes away. At his funeral, each of the three advisors is seen slipping something into the coffin. After the burial, as the three are walking away together, the doctor turns to the other two and says, "Friends, I have a confession to make. As you know with this economy, the hospital is desperate because of the cutbacks in funding. Our CT scan machine broke down and we haven't been able to get a new one. So, I took $20,000 of our friend's money for a new CT scanner and put the rest in the coffin as he asked."

At this the priest says, "I, too, have a confession to make. With the economy as it is, our church has become overwhelmed by the problem of the homeless. The needs keep increasing with all the foreclosures and we have nowhere to turn. So I took $50,000 from the envelope for our homeless fund and put the rest in the coffin as our friend requested."

Fixing the other two in his gaze, the lawyer says, "I am astonished and deeply disappointed that you would treat so casually our solemn undertaking to our friend. I want you to know that I placed in his coffin my personal check for the full one hundred thousand dollars."

The story raises the question do we ever have enough?

Billionaire H. Ross Perot was quoted some years ago in Fortune magazine. He said, “Guys, just remember, if you get lucky, if you make a lot of money, if you get out and buy a lot of stuff----it's gonna break. You got your biggest, fanciest mansion in the world. It has air conditioning. It's got a pool. Just think of all the pumps that are going to go out. Or go to a yacht basin any place in the world. Nobody is smiling, and I'll tell you why. Something broke that morning. The generator's out; the microwave oven doesn't work. . . .Things just don't mean happiness.

Is stuff ever enough?

This morning’s story addresses both of these questions through the man who came up to Jesus. We know from Matthew and Luke’s accounts that this was a rich, young ruler, meaning that he was from a wealthy, prominent family, probably a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin. A guy with the same kind of immaculate pedigree of a Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul the Apostle.

The man’s opening question indirectly asks the first question “Do we ever have enough?” “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” I don’t know about you, but knowing him to be a rich man and a ruler with some power, I can hear him saying, “You know teacher, I have a lot, but I don’t have everything. What I’m lacking is eternal life. How can I get it too? With it and all my stuff, my life can be complete.”

Jesus’ response addresses the second question, “Is stuff ever enough?” Jesus says, “You lack one thing…” What might that be? Humility? No, the young man kneels before Jesus and holds in respect His position as a teacher. Morality? No, he’s done all the right stuff under the 10 Commandments – at least the last 6 that relate to others. But it seems he may be lacking something among the first four commandments which are related to God. (1) You shall have no other Gods but me and (2) You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below… (Deut. 20:3-4) So is stuff an idol? It could be. In Matthew 6 and Luke 16 Jesus says that one cannot serve God and mammon. One source I read said that MAMMON is the Aramaic word for "riches," that Jesus used for a life goal opposed to God. (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13) Apparently this was the case for this young man. It got in the way of eternal life with God because it took first place in the man’s life. He was lacking in the first of the beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) Even though he has kept the commandments religiously, this young man didn’t understand the depth of his need for God and allowed stuff to take God’s place. Stuff is a poor substitute for God. Not because stuff, wealth, riches are bad. They’re just not God.

Be clear here. Jesus is not judging this young man regarding his wealth. Mark writes that, “Jesus looked at Him and loved him.” There seems to be some kind of special anticipation for this young man on the part of Jesus. One commentator wrote that Jesus “lock eyes with the young man, looks deeply into his soul and loves what He sees. Not only does Jesus admire the rare virtue of his exemplary character, but He foresees the potential of his drive and vision for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. One can speculate that this young man may have been God’s first choice for the role that Saul of Tarsus would eventually take.” Now that may be pushing the speculation a bit far but we’ll never know for sure. What we do know is that Jesus, with love in His heart, calls this young man to pay the price of following Jesus. And the man turns away shocked and grieving because he had a lot of stuff.

Too many folks misquote the Scriptures when they say that money is the root of all evil. Paul writes in I Timothy that, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (I Timothy 6:10)

And that’s what people often hear in this story: “Everybody who’s rich has to give all their wealth away.” But that’s not what Jesus says. He tells this fellow, this young man, to give his wealth away, because it’s taking God’s place in his life. But that doesn’t make it the rule for all who have wealth. Money’s not the problem. How we handle money, wealth, stuff, both physically and in our hearts, is the issue. When Jesus addresses the disciples in this passage He says “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Then again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It 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!”

So does this mean that no one who is rich, no one who has stuff can enter the kingdom of heaven? Well. No! But it could very difficult, virtually impossible, because wealth and possessions can get in the way? Are they in your way? What is the central factor in your life? God? Or stuff? Or power? Or prestige? Or what? If the answer is anything but God it’s an idol and idolatry is the admonition of the first two commandments. Jesus doesn’t care about our stuff. He cares about us. The young man’s question was a really good question but it was based on a wrong assumption that he could DO something to inherit eternal life. It’s a gift of God’s grace. It’s not something earned by doing but a gift to be received. To receive it though, our hands must be empty of other things. What idol are we holding onto, like wealth, that is keeping us from receiving God and the fullness of His gift? Let it go. Enough is enough and quite frankly, God is more than enough. AMEN