When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 18:22
“Do you see that man over there?” the man at the church retreat said to me. “The one with the plaid shirt?” I asked. “Yes, that’s the one,” he returned. “That’s Ron, and by all rights, he should be dead.” The guy had my attention. “Why should Ron be dead?”
Over the next few minutes, I was told how Ron had a life-threatening heart problem. The blood vessels supplying his ticker were slowly deteriorating. His father and his grandfather had both died of heart failure when they were much younger than Ron was today. I excused myself and walked straight to Ron. After introducing myself, I told him of the news I had just heard, asking him to fill me in on the details. He willingly obliged.
As Ron and I talked, he shared what it was like to know that at any minute and with no warning his heart could shut down completely. I learned of a wonder drug developed by researchers at Stanford University that was keeping Ron alive.
“What’s it like?” I finally asked, “to have a heart like this?”
“For one thing,” Ron answered, “I don’t buy green bananas.” We laughed. “For another thing,” he continued, “it helps me to keep short accounts. I never know if I’ll have a second chance with any of my relationships, especially my relationship with God.”
I was almost entranced by this display of wit and wisdom. “Most of all,” Ron concluded with a twinkle in his eye, “I’m thankful that I know I have a weak heart. I have completely changed my lifestyle—my exercise regimen, my rest, and my diet. When you have a bad heart, nothing short of a radical transformation will do.”
The “ruler” who came to Jesus had a lot of money. However—and this may come as a surprise to you—his money was not his problem. The trouble with this man was his bad heart. Jesus had already made clear, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21). Because of his confidence in his fiscal portfolio and his love for things, Jesus pronounced the man dead on arrival. “Your heart has followed your bank account,” the Savior said to the astonished man. “So because of this heart problem, you’re going have to do something radical. Take your net worth to zero, then you’ll have enough room in your heart for Me.”
“After [the ruler] heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich” (Lk 18:23).
There is nothing wrong with having things. There is nothing evil about money. However, if you fasten your heart to your cash, if you’ve fallen in love with your affluence, you’re going to have an unpleasant conversation the next time you see Jesus.
You and I—regardless of our personal balance sheets—are unwittingly drawn to financial gain. We’re lured by money’s promise of security and satisfaction. This is a tough predicament. We really want to, but we don’t believe that God’s eternal riches of salvation bring contentment. You and I have a heart problem.
Now that we know, we can join Ron and do something about it. This news could save our lives.