21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
This advice was given specifically to a young man seeking to come closer to God. He had asked for this counsel, but was unwilling to obey it. Often this scripture is used to suggest that to be wealthy is unchristian. However I would suggest that this scripture is teaching something else.
It is probable that Christ perceived in his heart, that his wealth was of great importance to him. And not unlike Isaac being asked to sacrifice Jacob, this young man was asked to give up something he dearly loved and put God first in his life. Sadly the young man did not at this time do so.
Are we any different? That is a question we must each answer personally. Is there anything,money, work, sports, talents, friends, family, etc. that we put before God in our lives. These things are for us are like the riches of the young man. It may be that we are one day asked to give them up to do God's will. The questions that we ask ourselves should be, Is God first in my life? and is there anything that I would not give up to follow God?
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