andyho1 Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Why does this trouble us so much? If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune because with all his wealth and fortune, he won't be able to follow Jesus/God wholeheartedly, and not willing to surrender to him and trust that Jesus/God will provide and give. We are troubled with fear because we sense that we are not fully surrender to Jesus/God. The spiritual dangers of wealth is that we can forsake our salvation for temporary wealth on earth. Our wealth can cause us to worship money instead of God or replace God, or even worship money and God equally, but God command us to only worship him alone, since that will distract us in truly worship and surrendering to God only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjim Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Why does this trouble us so much? If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? The lesson here is about focus. As we saw in the parable of the pearl of great price, one who had truly seen the kingdom would give up all for it. This troubles us because we are too much in the world and are not truly seeing the kingdom. I'm not sure if wealth is worse than any other immersion in the world, but it's certainly a formidable barrier to hearing what the Spirit is saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrenquist Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 We fear because we sense that we are not fully surrendered, that's why. Jesus' words to the rich young ruler are quite consistent with what he has been saying to his disciples throughout his journeys: ng We must admit our sins, repent and follow the teaching of Jesus. Our hearts must be completely dedicated to loving, praising and worshiping Jesus. All wordly goods are worthless even corrupting in our dedication to Jesus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eager Bver Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Why does this trouble us so much? If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? Jesus knew that possessions had him bound. It troubles us because of the uncertainty in living not knowing how we are to make it from one day to the next. It would cause us to live trusting God instead of things on a daily basis. The spiritual dangers of wealth: power; don't rely on God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raph Posted May 28, 2011 Report Share Posted May 28, 2011 Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? I think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune because of the fact that, riches of the world corrupt people to the extent of failing to live according to the word of the Lord. Jesus says: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24) Why does this trouble us so much? This troubles us so much because it shows that we have not fully surrendered ourselves to God; we still care about wealth. If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? Very very few people could be saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blezed Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Why does this trouble us so much? If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? 1) I think Jesus required the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune because Jesus wanted to remove all barriers that would prevent him from seving him fully. 2) This troubles us because we are too attached to our material possessions. Even though we may do all other things that are required of us as believers, we hate to let go of our material possessions and we sense that we are not fully surrendered to God. 3) The spiritual dangers of wealth tempts us to compromise our values in order to gain and retain it. "For the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Why does this trouble us so much? If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? Jesus recognised the young man's attachment to his wealth and the priority which it had in his life. He recognised that it could be a hindrance, serving as an idol thereby preventing true discipleship and this is why Jesus required him to divest himself of it all. I believe it troubles us because we also want to acquire wealth and we may be slightly afraid that Jesus will ask us to give it all up in order to follow Him. It says that wealth can trap us and give a feeling of false security. At this point we do not see a need for Jesus in our lives and that is a dangerous place to be Spiritually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerbrand van Schalkwyk Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? His fortune is keeping his focus away fom God. He sets more store on his fortune than on God Why does this trouble us so much? Our posessions is often too important for us as well If there was no other way for the man to be saved, No what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? We must be very carefull how we go about our wealth. We can loose our salvation by serving the wrong god Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickledilly Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 Jesus required the wealthy young ruler to release his fortune because that fortune had control of the man’s heart. And since He specified donating all to the poor, I wonder if this man had been hoarding anyway, perhaps ignoring/neglecting the generous care Yahweh commanded for those in need. I also wonder if this man had understood and received Jesus’ challenge with humility and joy whether Jesus might have been free to tell him the response of the heart was what He required and the actual deed of selling all would not be literally necessary. But I think the primary concern was that the ruler’s focus and sense of security was set on worldly treasures, even as he dutifully kept the Law, and that was a barrier to grasping the point of the greater treasure of the Kingdom of God. Along with the test Jesus presented, He also revealed and offered the only path to finding that Kingdom and its treasure… Come…follow Me. Pastor Ralph’s statement “We fear because we are not fully surrendered” is dead-on. I agree fear is the root of why Jesus’ teaching here troubles us. It challenges us to examine where our heart is set and what we are placing our trust in. And we’re afraid/uncomfortable with the thought of releasing e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g we’ve worked for and rely on for provision for the intangible security of a Kingdom we can’t yet see. It’s a matter of Who/what we trust. When worldly wealth, riches, or the mere pittance of scraping by become the all-consuming driving force in one’s life, it’s very difficult to envision/desire the riches of that Kingdom or to recklessly abandon all within the heart in order to Come…follow Me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquie7 Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Jesus was trying to teach him that he could not hold on to worldly treasures if he wanted eternal life, he had to give up those earthly things he valued. He was also showing him that he really had not kept the commandments as he thought he had and his heart was not focused on God but on earthly riches. We have a fear of the unknown; not knowing what is going to happen next (how are we going to live, take care of our family, etc.) which is a clear indication that we are not fully surrendered to Christ. Having wealth without a true relationship with God can be dangerous spiritually for believers because it has a way of corrupting and the power of having it can have a detrimental effect on ones’ spiritual life. One can look more to their earthly possessions than to a relationship with God, which can hinder entry into His Kingdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgandy Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Money can be the root of all evil if we value it more that worshipping the Lord. Money too can be a good thing. It all depends on how you use it. So money itself is not evil. The rich young ruler valued money more that the eternal life. We are afraid of being poor. We are afraid of wanting. Having enough money to live on and put a little back is not a crime. But, we must use what we have to worship the Lord and take care of our neighbors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie's Son Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Here we have an earnest and wealthy young man, a ruler, connected to the synagogue, and was well respected in the community. He came up to Christ, knells saying, " . . . Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life" (Mk. 10:17)? Christ set about answering the young man that would shake not only him, but me as well. Is it not to make me uncomfortable if I have chosen a life that is far less than being fully surrendered? In the end of their conversation, Christ tells him to sell all that he has give to the poor and follow him, because his treasure was in the wrong place. To get it in the right place, he would have to give it all away. The question is why? Christ told him that he lacked that one thing. If he did sell all and give to the poor and follow Him, it would relocate his treasure to the right place. He just wouldn't do it. His wealth was controlling him, and Christ knew it. The young man's values had been compromised. His wealth had become his master, and Christ knew it. Why is this so troubling? Probably, for some of the same reasons as it was for this young man. What if Christ asked me to do the same thing? What would I do? Would I be willing to relocate my treasure, or hold on to it? This comes down to, "Am I fully surrendered?" I have to answer that question. Not only did the young ruler have to make that decision, but I do as well--hopefully differently. Wealth brings with it a lot of spiritual dangers. One of those is that it is controlling. Another is that it is easy for a person to compromise their values. Wealth, on occasion, could cause a person to drop their guard. " . . . they wandered from the faith . . . . " (1 Tim. 6:10) Although there are many dangers that come with wealth, but I think it comes down to " . . . You cannot serve God and money" (Mt. 6:24). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy and in Love Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 In order for us to be sincere followers of Jesus, we must give up the love (obsession) of money for it is the root of all evil. Surrendering all to Jesus is submission of trust. Once we have absolute trust in the Lord, we will follow (obedient) Him forever. When we follow Him in spirit and truth, we have eyes to see beyond what the carnal eyes can see. Christians wants to obtain a more precious gift when we get to heaven, the incorruptible crown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosesSole Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 On 9/16/2010 at 2:43 PM, Pastor Ralph said: Q2. (Mark 10:21) Why do you think Jesus requires the rich young ruler to divest himself of his fortune? Why does this trouble us so much? The assumption is that the rich ruler is serving money first, rather than God. I don't necessarily agree with this since prosperity often relates to hard work and dedication, which could also mean that this ruler had favor with God. We don't really know and I think it's unfair to make assumptions about someone's character based on how much money he has. It's a noble theory, to give up your wealth to the poor, in exchange for wealth in Heaven but let's also realize that there is no guarantee that the poor that receive this sudden windfall will not squander it and live sinfully as a result of it. If there was no other way for the man to be saved, what does that say about the spiritual dangers of wealth? If there is no there way for this man to be saved, I would say that he's better off living his most righteous life on earth by furthering God's Word to his neighbors through donations and worship services. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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