Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Follow your heart.
From t-shirts to greeting cards and everything in between, you can’t escape this quote. It’s intended, no doubt, to be inspirational, but there is an underside to it, overlooked by many. We need only pause briefly and look around and within for the dark reality to be seen.
The rich man in Mark 10:17-31 unwittingly followed his heart. When the man asks Jesus how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus acknowledges that the man knows and keeps many commandments. Then he lovingly exposes the rich man’s oversight of the first commandment: “You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3).
It was love that motivated Jesus to speak this way to the young man. Jesus was speaking a truth too easily forgotten—eternal life costs something. For the young man, it was too much. He was genuinely grieved to learn what eternal life would cost him.
Mark 10:22
At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
In reality, the man’s wealth and what he perceived as an accomplished ability to keep commandments became his god, pushing out THE God. Jesus was lovingly communicating that earning one’s way into heaven is not possible.
As followers of Christ, it’s important to understand that no merit of our own makes us worthy to spend eternity in heaven. No amount of goodness, no amount of riches, no amount of commandment-keeping is enough. This is not necessarily an easy lesson.
Ephesians 2:8
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Because we live in a society where our “worth” or “worthiness” is measured by accomplishments and/or material things, it is easy to find it difficult to relinquish earthly possessions, similar to the rich man from the Book of Mark. However, it’s foolhardy to follow our hearts and place our faith and trust anywhere other than in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything else will eventually fail us and leave us empty.
Titus 3:5-6
… 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.… 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our savior.
Questions:
In what ways do you relate with the rich man from Mark 10:17-31? What is the friction between owning things and being owned by things? What is the source of the friction?
Next Steps:
Reflect on this Dave Ramsey quote: “More money makes you more of what you already are. Whatever you are—good or bad—is going to get bigger when you add wealth to the mix.”
Journal about whether you find your identity in possessions and accomplishments. Give serious thought to whether you are genuinely pleased with who you are. Let God’s Word guide you as you consider whether you need to take any steps to find your true identity in Christ.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I so easily get caught up in the ways of the world. Priorities easily get misaligned when I fail to focus on you and your plan for my life. Help me remember each day that my true identity is based on a personal relationship with you—nothing else and no one else. Continue to lead me on the straight and narrow path. Thank you for lovingly correcting me as Jesus lovingly corrected the rich man. Your grace and mercy are beyond comprehension. Thank you for your generosity in offering both fresh and new every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This post was written by Karen Peck, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.