Photo Source: morguefile.com by Grafixar (modified)
Jesus said the love of money is the root of evil. He also said the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you love your money more than you love God, you’re breaking the greatest commandment.
The second command is like the first one: love your neighbor as yourself. Well, who is my neighbor, you might ask. Jesus’ answer was the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10. When the good Samaritan helped his Jewish neighbor he was able to say, “here is some money to take care of this man. Whatever else he needs for his care I will pay for it when I return” (vs. 35). He had the money to do so. He was using his money in a godly way, fulfilling the commandment to love his neighbor.
The story commonly referred to as the rich young ruler (found in Mark 10 and the parallel account in Matthew 19) begins with a very similar question that was posed in Luke 10 before Jesus told the good Samaritan story. What must I do to inherit eternal life? The rich young man told Jesus that he had kept the law from his youth up and loved his neighbor as himself. And Jesus’ response was to tell him to go and sell all that he had and give it to the poor. This was not some new commandment that Jesus was introducing. It was simply a way for this particular man to fulfill the commands he was claiming to already be fulfilling: to love God, and love his neighbor as himself. In his failure to do so he revealed his true heart, his true character, and his true motivation. And he went away with his riches but full of sorrow. Compare this man to what we learn from Proverbs 10:22. “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”
If you’ve struggled with this passage and Jesus’ command to “sell all you have” I hope that this helps you. Remember all that you have belongs to God. Wealth is not evil. Even the pursuit of wealth is not evil. Selfishness, however, is. That is the fine line we all must walk. We work with diligence as unto the Lord. We have an open hand so that the blessings God gives us allows us to take care of our family and bless others. The good news is that when you surrender your life to God he will direct your paths and your steps.
Remember that what with man seems impossible, with God is possible.