When the young man told the Lord that he had observed all the commandments, the Lord said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me” (v. 21). Even if the young man had observed the commandments of the old law as he had claimed, he was still not perfect, not up to the standard of the requirement of the complemented law; for he was not willing to sell what he had and lay up treasure in heaven, as the constitution of the kingdom required (6:19-21). To follow the Lord is to love Him above all things (10:37-38). This is the supreme requirement for entering into the kingdom of the heavens.
Verse 22 says, “But the young man, hearing this word, went away sorrowing, for he had many possessions.” Loving material possessions above the Lord causes one to sorrow, but those who love Christ above all things are joyful in losing their possessions (Heb. 10:34).
There are two kinds of rich men: those who are rich with many material possessions and those who dream about being rich although they actually are not rich. In the past, some of us may have dreamed of being a millionaire. In the sense of dreaming about riches, everyone is a rich man. The desire of some young women is to marry a rich man. This is their dream. If you are not the first kind of rich person, then you probably are the second.
The Lord said that it is more difficult for someone who loves money to enter into the kingdom than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. This illustration reveals the seriousness of the love of money as far as the kingdom is concerned. The love of money is the greatest hindrance to entering into the kingdom.
The Lord dealt with the young man in chapter nineteen in a wise manner. He had come to the Lord to ask Him what he should do in order to have eternal life, that is, to live in the kingdom. Knowing the young man’s heart, the Lord told him to keep the commandments. When the Lord was asked which commandments, He listed six of them: the commandments regarding murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, honoring father and mother, and loving our neighbor as ourself (vv. 18-19). Then the young man said, “All these things I have observed; what do I lack yet?” The Lord was ready to answer him and told him what to do in order to be perfect. In His answer the Lord seemed to be saying, “Even if you have kept all the commandments, you still are not perfect. You may be perfect according to the law of Moses, but not according to the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. To be perfect according to the constitution of the kingdom, you must sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and follow Me.” This was a killing word. When the Lord mentioned six of the commandments, the young man was very encouraged, for he was one who kept the law. But when the Lord told him to uproot his love for money and to follow Him, he went away sorrowful.
When I was young, I was troubled by the Lord’s word in chapter eighteen concerning forgiveness. I regarded it as a sobering word, and I took it seriously. I asked myself if I was willing to forgive everyone. When I came to chapter nineteen, I asked myself whether or not I could uproot the love of money. Like most students in China at the time, I was quite poor. But even a poor Chinese student could dream of becoming rich. At that time I did not have the boldness to say, “Yes, Lord, I can uproot the love of money.” I realized that probably I could not succeed in doing this. The love of money exposes how far off the course many of today’s Christians are. To them, the Gospel of Matthew is a story book. When they read it, it seems that nothing touches them. But we must be touched by the Lord’s sobering word in chapter nineteen regarding the requirements of the kingdom. Do you mean business with the Lord for His kingdom? If so, then what about the love of money? Is there still room in you for the love of money? This is a serious matter.
Only by the divine life can we fulfill the requirements of the kingdom. It is easy to fulfill these requirements when we have the grace to do so. By our human life it is impossible, but by the divine life with the divine grace it is easy. In fact, it is a joy. What a joy to lay up treasure in the heavens!
We, the people in the kingdom, are altogether different from the worldly people. We are even different from those in Christianity. Our heart has been touched, and we are serious with the Lord concerning His kingdom. Riches and material possessions do not mean much to us. By our natural life it is very difficult to have such an attitude toward riches. But by the divine life with the divine grace, we can say that it is a joy for us to lay up treasure in the heavens.
We have seen three requirements for entering into the kingdom of the heavens: dealing with lust, dealing with pride, and dealing with the love of riches. To deal with the love of riches is to deal with the self. Those who love money do so for two reasons: for security and for pleasure. People in this country are worried about their security. They are anxious to provide for their future and their old age. Others love money for the pleasure it gives them. They enjoy counting how much money they have in the bank. Both security and pleasure are related to the self. Thus, the love of money is a matter of the self. To deal with the love of money is to deal with the self, although the self is dealt with indirectly.
The Lord’s sober word regarding the requirements of the kingdom should not merely be doctrine to us. We need to take the Lord’s word in a serious way and open ourselves to the Lord concerning lust, pride, and the hidden love of riches for the sake of the self. May the Lord have mercy upon us to give us a thorough dealing with these matters for the kingdom of the heavens.