Two Mistakes, part one

Mark 10:17-22

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One think you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

He heard, but went away sad because he didn’t want to obey. Why did he not want to obey? Why did it not bother him to miss out on seeing joy in the faces of the people who received his stuff?

The man didn’t know what would happen following his obedience. God takes things from you for your benefit and replaces what you’ve given up with things you need. Instead of worrying about maintaining his bank account, he should have worked on maintaining his relationship with Jesus.

I think he didn’t know Jesus; he just knew about him. If he’d taken the time to get to know Jesus on a personal level, he would’ve seen what happens to people who obey Jesus without hesitation.

Two common mistakes we make in our relationship with God are: not taking the time to get to know God and not having a servant’s attitude. Next week I’ll bring a scripture about attitude.