The average American spends $285 per year on lottery tickets, every dollar invested with the dream of becoming rich. But lottery winners soon realize that wealth has a downside. Jackpot winners experience greater stress in relationships, with higher incidents of divorce, discontentment, and depression. They are frequently overwhelmed by greedy family members and friends who come knocking. They become targets for thieves and scammers. And, ironically, they experience greater instances of bankruptcy as they overspend…often on more lottery tickets.
The wealth we think will be a luxury may end up becoming a liability. Prosperity can lead to poverty.
As soon as Jesus called the children to Himself and announced, “The Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” a man ran up Him, fell to his knees, and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). This is the question everyone should be asking—the most important question of life!
Jesus announced an abbreviated 10 Commandments list the man needed to obey: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother” (10:19). The man replied that he had been faithful to the commands since he was a boy. So, Jesus add-ed a kicker, “One thing you lack. Go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (10:21).
A WEALTH OF WISDOM
You don’t have to be listed among Forbes’ Richest People for this text to get your attention. Jesus’ brief exchange with the in-quisitor highlights several spiritual realities. First, wealth reveals the condition of our heart. It’s easy for the reader to miss the contradiction in the story. The man claimed that he kept the fifth through tenth commandments, which are practical ways to “love people.” However, when it came time to prove that he loved people—using his wealth to meet the needs of the poor—the fellow couldn’t do it. His money revealed the true condition of his heart.
One pastor preached that “generosity is the one area of our spiritual life that we cannot fake.” Schedule A, line 11 doesn’t lie. If we profess to love God, then our compassion, our evangelistic priority, our missional heart, our eternal hope, our desire for God’s glory, and more will be proved by our stewardship of the riches we possess.
Second, wealth competes for our affections. When the man came to Jesus, “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (10:21). Jesus wasn’t refusing the man; He was inviting him into a genuine, personal relationship with the living God. However, the man who fell to his knees in reverence walked away with sad regret. He was discouraged because he had to choose between two competing treasures: his God and his gold.
Jesus warned, “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). Jesus didn’t mean that a person couldn’t be rich and love God. But such a person will always feel the magnetic pull of wealth.
The more we have, the more we want, and our affections easily turn toward accumulating, investing, flipping, managing, sheltering, accounting, selling, building, renovating, bequeathing, etc. It’s all very intoxicating, luring our heart away from our Master.
Third, wealth creates a false sense of security. As the rich man shuffled away, Jesus taught His disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (10:25). The Jews believed that riches were God’s reward for a righteous life. And so, the wealthy grew quite contented with their life, never realizing the depths of their true, spiritual poverty. Today, wealth can produce a similar, false sense of security. The prosperous can become like the person addressed in Revelation 3:17: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Having so much, such people never really consider their need for Jesus.
Lastly, wealth makes us miss out on Kingdom riches. Hearing Jesus’ words about camels and the Kingdom, Peter said, “We have left everything to follow You!” (10:28). He was assuring Jesus, “We’re poor! We’re poor!” But Jesus corrected,
“I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (10:29-31)
Those who give all but gain the Kingdom are rich! They’re rich! Jesus wasn’t promising a monetary reward but something far more valuable. Generous people get peace, freedom, contentment, and a glad sense of purpose in this present life. And they look forward to heavenly rewards in the life to come. In other words, God promises a return on your divestment.
Don’t cling to the riches of this world and miss out on the riches of God’s grace. Jesus is a better reward than any of us could ever earn. Trust in Him for eternal life, use your gold for His glory, and then you will discover true wealth.
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See also the "The Poverty of Great Wealth" sermon from the "King Jesus" sermon series about the Gospel of Mark.