Why do rich people give money away? No, they don’t all do that. But some do. And they get cheered for it. But do you ever wonder, why do they give it away? And should we be cheering?
I write the original version of this more than ten years ago. It was on a different site, with a different audience.
It’s time for an update. And a slightly different focus since it’s over here on God versus religion now.
The adjacent image shows a view that some people have of those mega-rich people who very publicly give away billions of dollars. One such mechanism to do this is something called The Giving Pledge. On the flip side of that view, some also wonder why more rich people don’t join the pledge.
Many wonder why more billionaires have not joined the pledge or many any public commitment to giving away their wealth. Some critics of the initiative say there is a lack of accountability built into the pledge. Others wonder if pledgers are more focused on gaining publicity than supporting environmental and social causes. On the other hand, others believe billionaires have no moral obligation to give away their hard-earned wealth. 1The Giving Pledge Explained | August 2022
Summary
In the realm of philanthropy, the ultra-wealthy often make headlines with their grand gestures of generosity. However, this article invites readers to delve deeper into the motives and impacts of such acts, particularly from a Christian perspective. It challenges us to question the morality of accumulating wealth at the expense of others and the true effectiveness of philanthropy by the ultra-rich.
The Giving Pledge: Discusses the Giving Pledge, a commitment by wealthy individuals to give away a majority of their wealth, and the public’s mixed views on this.
Christian Perspective: Explores why rich people should give away money from a Christian viewpoint, emphasizing the importance of the motives behind giving.
Scriptural References: References biblical figures like Zacchaeus the Tax Collector to illustrate the concept of restitution and generosity in Christianity.
Wealth and Morality: Questions the morality of amassing wealth at the expense of others and the true impact of philanthropy by the ultra-rich.
The page encourages a critical examination of the motives and effects of wealthy individuals’ philanthropy, especially in the context of Christian values.
Why should rich people give money away? (from a Christian point of view)
There are. of course, lots of reasons why people give money to various causes. However, since I’m going for a specifically Christian viewpoint here, I’m asking why should they give, with a very narrow view of should.
You probably expect to see something on the Rich Young Man that Jesus spoke with. And we will get there. But for now, I just want to point out that money isn’t the only possible issue when we look at the topic of giving things away. Even with money, it’s not the wealth itself that is the problem. It’s the love of that wealth. To that, I also add the things we did in order to gain that wealth. For instance:
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
Lk 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Lk 19:5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Lk 19:7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ”
Lk 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Lk 19:9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Yes, Zacchaeus said, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor”. However, did you ever wonder why he also said, “and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount”? Was he being extra generous? Or maybe he was just a nice guy all of a sudden?
Or was it this:
Four times as much. When a person confessed to fraud and made voluntary restitution the Torah required him to return the amount stolen plus twenty percent (Leviticus 5:20–24(6:1–5), Numbers 5:5–7). An apprehended thief had to pay the victim double (Exodus 22:3, 6(4, 7)). But a man stealing what is essential and showing no pity was required to pay back fourfold (Exodus 21:37(22:1), 2 Samuel 12:6). Zakkai (Zacchaeus), fully repentant, not only acknowledged the heartlessness and cruelty of his behavior but voluntarily imposed upon himself the whole restitution required by the Torah for such acts. 2Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary : a companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed., Lk 19:8). Jewish New Testament Publications.
Zacchaeus knew something about what he did to get so rich. Plus, unlike many people, we didn’t try to hide it. Not from God. But also, not from those he hurt in the process. But a man stealing what is essential and showing no pity was required to pay back fourfold (Exodus 21:37(22:1), 2 Samuel 12:6). Zakkai (Zacchaeus), fully repentant, not only acknowledged the heartlessness and cruelty of his behavior but voluntarily imposed upon himself the whole restitution required by the Torah for such acts.
Now, I know that the Old Testament law is assumed to be OT stuff and isn’t relevant anymore. And some of definitely isn’t, like the unclean food requirements. However, when Jesus responded to a question about the greatest commandment, He said this:
The Greatest Commandment – Matthew
22:34-40 pp — Mk 12:28-31
Mt 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Mt 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
I ask you, does anything in Jesus’ response indicate it’s OK to think we don’t have to pay someone back for what we stole? Or that it gives us the right to even deny that we stole anything? And, for that matter, does it even take away any responsibility to pay retribution and/or pain and suffering? Even our secular court system does that. So shouldn’t we do that?
Love for Enemies – Matthew
Mt 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Shouldn’t Christians go further than the pagans?
Should non-Christian rich people follow Christian beliefs?
So, am I saying that non-Christian rich people must or should, follow what Jesus told us? Of course not. It’s not our place to force that. Not to anyone. For anything. We’re supposed to be a light, not someone who looks to the government to force our values on everyone.
I bring this up for a different reason. Take a look at the image above again. The rich man is acting like a king. Doling out money to people, organizations, and companies all too eager to take it. That’s pretty obvious. But did you notice the people under the table? The rich man is controlling them like puppets.
If that’s what’s going on, they aren’t really giving away money, are they”? They’re buying people. Buying favors. They aren’t giving away anything. They are buying power.
So then, why are we, as Christians, cheering what they do?
Again, I hope this doesn’t cover every single one of them. And yet, how did they get so much money? Who did they hurt in the process? How many people sacrificed so much in their life for the ultra-rich to get ultra-rich? How many literally gave their life? Or their kids’ lives? How much have we all suffered for their wealth?
So why are we cheering them on and calling them great philanthropists, when it’s everyday people who made them so rich?
What should Christians do, or look for, when people give money away?
Assuming that at least some of these ultra-rich people are Christian, let’s look at what they “should” do as Christians. And for those that are non-Christian, that means what should we, as Christians, be looking for?
Some of what follows is from the original version of this topic. Some is added.
If you want to be perfect …
If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor …
Yes – Jesus did say that.
And that’s what the Giving Pledge folks joining Bill & Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet are doing.
But isn’t there more to being perfect that just giving lots of money to the poor?
In case you haven’t heard of the Giving Pledge – here’s the info from their web site Home Page –
I think this home page tells a lot.
It starts with the simple statement at the top of the page –
The Giving Pledge is a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
The home page used to be filled with pictures of the givers. Now there are link to them. The most prominent one is to a page that shows the year they joined the pledge – enabling us to see who gave first and who are the late comers to the party. You’ll understand more about that comment below.
Philanthropy could include what we would generally call charity. Could include.
We see the definition below at dictionary.com
- altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.
- the activity of donating to such persons or purposes in this way:
to devote one’s later years to philanthropy. - a particular act, form, or instance of this activity:
The art museum was their favorite philanthropy - an organization devoted to helping needy persons or to other socially useful purposes.
A number of the examples given above have nothing at all to do with charity. Art Museums and “institutions of learning” especially could have very little to do with people who are in dire need of assistance. Their needs are much more basic that looking at “fine art” and getting a college education from a prestigious / expensive university.
To be sure – I’m not saying they don’t do anything good.
What I am saying is that if this thing makes you feel like they’re somehow living out Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” – and they’re keeping Christmas like no person ever did.
It’s time to wake up.
Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol – about “Christmas” – his religious views were far from what Jesus said in the Bible.
The following comes from The University of Santa Cruz’ Dickens Project –
In all his writings, Charles Dickens—a Christian of the broadest kind—is outspoken in his dislike of evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism, but, especially in his fiction, he is very reluctant to make professions of a specific faith beyond the most general sort of Christianity. Nothing more surely aroused his suspicions about a person’s religious faith than a public profession of it, and this aversion formed a fundamental feature of his dislike of evangelicals and dissenters.
…
It was in these years too that Dickens first felt the need to impart some religious instruction to his children and, significantly, undertook to do this himself by writing a simplified version of the gospels designed for reading aloud (not published until 1934, when it was dubbed The Life of Our Lord). Given the intended audience, it is hardly fair to infer the specifics of Dickens’s faith from this slight work, which is in any case theologically rather inconsistent. But it is often taken as expressing a Unitarian outlook, and certainly what Dickens stresses is Christ as model, teacher, and healer—the comforter of the distressed rather than the saviour of mankind through the crucifixion and atonement.
In case you’re not familiar with what Unitarians believe – here’s something from Wikipedia on the topic –
Unitarianism is historically a Christian theological movement named for the affirmation that God is one entity, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism, which defines God as three persons in one being.[1] Traditional Unitarians maintain that Jesus of Nazareth is in some sense the “son” of God (as all humans are children of the Creator), but that he is not the one God himself.[2] They may believe that he was inspired by God in his moral teachings and can thus be considered a savior,[3] but all Unitarians perceive Christ as human rather than a Deity.
No wonder Christ was never mentioned in this A Christmas Carol book about Christmas!
And no wonder a man – any man, not necessarily Scrooge – could keep Christmas better than anyone.
Apparently Jesus wasn’t good enough to even compare to Scrooge.
Rich people give money away. So what?
You may be wondering – what’s this got to do with the Giving Pledge?
Well – I think quite a bit.
These people, however much good they want to do, no matter how much they give money away, appear to be making it more about them than anything else.
Look at the links off home page. It has all their names on it. And if you actually go to the gallery page. you can see a picture of the person(s) named. Click on the block – and you can read about that person. For instance, when I first wrote this:
Paul Allen – co-founder of Microsoft, along with Bill Gates –
“By dedicating resources that can help some of the world’s most creative thinkers accelerate discovery, I hope to serve as a catalyst for progress — in large part by encouraging closer collaboration and challenging conventional thinking. When smart people work together with vision and determination, there is little we can’t accomplish.”
That’s still there. But now there’s a whole giving pledge statement to go with it.
Do you know what’s not there? What and/who they gave to. Nothing about where the money goes. Except this:
How do signatories give, and what specific causes or organizations do they support?
Signatories fulfill their pledge at different times and in a variety of ways: through traditional charities, foundations, and non-profits, including their own foundations or philanthropic vehicles; through Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs); through collaborative philanthropy or co-funding, or through other charitable vehicles.
The Giving Pledge does not solicit support for any specific philanthropic foundation, cause, or organization. The Pledge encourages signatories to support issues that inspire them personally and benefit society. Giving Pledge signatories are focused on a wide array of causes, from medical research to poverty alleviation, disaster relief, climate change and arts and culture. Some signatories focus on their local communities, while others focus on national or global issues.
Yeah – everything else is about the people.
And if you want to learn more about them and what they’re doing – the FAQ and media links will get you more than enough information about how great these people and their activities are. Well, that used to be true. That stuff isn’t there anymore.
If you want to be perfect … do this
Let’s compare what we have so far with the quote from Jesus at the top –
If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.
So far, so good. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. These folks have pledged to give away more than half of their fortunes, so they seem to be at least on the right track.
Well, at least their on the same track Scrooge was on.
To be sure, no matter the means by which the money was obtained, meaning no matter how ruthless they had to be to get that much money, these people are giving it away now. And there is this thing in Christianity about forgiveness.
But let’s keep looking.
The thing about that quote from Jesus, it can be misleading. It’s often used to give a message that isn’t what Jesus actually said, and certainly not what He meant.
The Rich Young Man
19:16-29 pp — Mk 10:17-30; Lk 18:18-30
Mt 19:16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life ?”
Mt 19:17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
Mt 19:18 “Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’”
Mt 19:20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Mt 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Mt 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Mt 19:23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, 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.”
Mt 19:25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Mt 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Mt 19:27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Mt 19:28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
Some would look at this and say there’s no way for a rich person to get into Heaven, because there’s no way a camel can go through the eye of a needle.
But that’s putting God in a box.
Of course a rich person can go to Heaven.
And I’m sure that somehow, in some way that I can’t begin to imagine, God can also put a camel through the eye of a needle.
He is, after all, God.
Part of the reason for this thinking that rich people can’t go to Heaven, I believe, comes from a misquoting of the underlined verse about money in the passage below.
Love of Money
1Ti 6:3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
It’s not that “money is the root of all evil”.
It’s that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
There’s a big difference in those two statements.
Others would look at it and say there’s nothing wrong with having money as long as you do some “nice” things with it.
Still others would look at it and say there’s no problem with money as long as you give it away. (Or at least more than half of it.)
There’s one other thing to consider as well. Jesus talked about money frequently. One of the things he said was about treasures in Heaven versus here on earth, as in this passage.
Treasures in Heaven
6:22, 23 pp — Lk 11:34-36
Mt 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mt 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Mt 6:24 “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.”
Between these two things, we see something important. The relationship each of these people have with both God and money must be examined. If you give money away, that’s one thing. If you do it because you love God, and you do it with prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit, that’s something else entirely.
While they were getting all that money, did they have a good relationship with God? Or was the money/the job/the power/whatever the driving force behind them? As I said, there’s forgiveness if it wasn’t God. However, looking at the example of the rich young man we see that the relationship with God must take precedence over whatever the previous relationship was with the money/the job/the power/whatever.
If God wasn’t number one in their lives before, while they were amassing all that money, then something needs to change.
If God isn’t number one in their lives as part of the Giving Pledge, they are not fulfilling what Jesus told the rich young man.
If the main thing about giving the money away is to preserve or even create a good legacy for themselves, then God isn’t number one. The web site appearance tends to show that in fact, they are still number one, not God. The description says nothing about God, but they do talk about how great these people were in life. The names and images are all about them as well.
I researched at least the two people whose names are on this Pledge group: Gates and Buffet.
Here’s what I found –
Bill Gates –
“The moral systems of religion, I think, are super important. We’ve raised our kids in a religious way; they’ve gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in. I’ve been very lucky, and therefore I owe it to try and reduce the inequity in the world. And that’s kind of a religious belief. I mean, it’s at least a moral belief,” Gates says in an interview with Rolling Stone in the March 27 issue of the magazine.
When asked if he believed in God, he responded, “I think it makes sense to believe in God, but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don’t know.”
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-religious-life-of-bill-gates-116296/#VfymXdCqchvTKdlO.99
That’s kind of a religious belief. At least a moral belief. But then he says, he doesn’t know what decision in life would be made differently because of a belief in God. Wow. It’s like it seems like he thought it would be a good idea to put God in there someplace, but the attempt failed miserably.
It reminds me of what C. S. Lewis wrote –
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 3C.S. Lewis; Mere Christianity
You can’t believe in the Christian God and say what Bill Gates said. And you can’t have that kind of belief and claim God’s involved in how you give money away.
Warren Buffet
Buffett has quickly and efficiently handled inquiries into his religious beliefs, simply stating that he’s agnostic, even though he was raised Presbyterian. He has said:
The nice thing about an agnostic is you don’t think anybody is wrong.
As one of the world’s most successful investors and financiers, this isn’t a surprising take on religion. Good investors must understand very clearly if they don’t know something and face up to that. Leaps of faith and speculation often results in disaster.
Read more at http://hollowverse.com/warren-buffett/
No need to say anything about Buffet.
He doesn’t believe in God. Period.
The Bottom Line (pun intended)
If you want to be perfect, then don’t do what these guys do.
If you want to be perfect, then do what Jesus said.
The Greatest Commandment – Matthew
22:34-40 pp — Mk 12:28-31
Mt 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Mt 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
And remember what Jesus told the rich young man –
If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.
Which translates to: whatever is preventing you from following me, get rid of it in a fashion that follows the greatest commandments and then spend the rest of forever with me.
Sounds like good words to live by. Forever.
Conclusion – Why do rich people give money away?
Just in case all that stuff about the rich young man, or any super-rich person makes you think this doesn’t apply today, or doesn’t apply to us in developed countries, like the U.S., here’s something to consider.
Remember what we read earlier about the Great Commission. Let me ask, why bring this up again?
Well, some, but obviously not all rich people do claim to believe in God. And maybe, to some extent, they do. And yet, along the way to amassing huge amounts of money, it’s very difficult to imagine what all they had to do in order to get it. How many things did they do that are against the teachings of Jesus along the way to getting that money?
That’s just one reason we need to look at the rich people who give their money away, especially in such a public manner.
If/when they talk about God, is it God as He presented Himself in the Bible? Or is it a God made in the image of the person giving away the money? To Jesus, doing the right thing includes doing the right thing for the right reason. It includes glory going to God, not to the person.
The point is, bottom line, if we want to know about God, we have to learn from someone who knows about God. About God as He told us about Himself.
Non-Christians shouldn’t judge God by what’s said by people who don’t know anything about Him.
And as much as rich / smart people might say they can build a better world, there’s a simple reality. They cannot. They are very much the reason this world is what it is. The reason for the haves and the have-nots. The discrepancy between the rich and the poor. And the knowledge gap between the “smart” and the apparently, according to them, something other than “smart”.
When Jesus came to earth, the poor and the underprivileged were glad to see Him. They knew the eternal life He promised was from God. And that it was infinitely better than anything here in this life. But now, the rich/intelligent people tell us that God doesn’t exist. Or if He does, He doesn’t really have a place in our lives.
That’s so sad. It makes for a hard life here and now. And takes away the possibility of a better life later. And so often, just to allow them to feel better about themselves.
I asked Microsoft’s AI tool to write something up-to-date for me about The Rich Young Man in Matthew’s Gospel.
Sure, I can try to write something from a possible present-day scene of Jesus talking to the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-26. Here is a short story that I made based on your request. I hope you enjoy it. ?
The young man parked his Lamborghini in front of the church and walked inside. He was wearing a designer suit and a Rolex watch. He had a successful career as a lawyer and a large fortune in his bank account. He was looking for something more in life, something that money couldn’t buy.
He saw a man sitting in one of the pews, wearing a simple robe and sandals. He had a gentle smile and a peaceful aura. The young man felt drawn to him and approached him. “Excuse me, sir. Are you the pastor of this church?” he asked.
“No, I’m just a visitor. My name is Jesus,” the man said.
“Jesus? Like the son of God?” the young man asked, surprised.
“Yes, that’s me. And you are?” Jesus said.
“I’m Mark. I’m a lawyer. I came here to ask you a question. What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Mark said.
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” Mark inquired.
Jesus said, “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“All these I have kept since I was a child. What do I still lack?” Mark said.
Jesus looked at him and loved him. He said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Mark’s face fell. He couldn’t believe what he heard. He had worked hard to earn his wealth and status. He had many possessions and investments. He was not ready to give them up for a stranger.
He said to Jesus, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I have too much to lose.”
He turned around and walked away, feeling sad and empty.
Jesus watched him go and sighed. He said to his disciples, who were nearby, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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.”
The disciples were amazed and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
This story is based on the biblical passage of Matthew 19:16-26¹²³⁴⁵, which tells the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler. I have updated some of the details to make it more relevant to the present day, such as the young man’s profession, car, and clothes. I have also added some dialogue and descriptions to make the story more vivid. I have tried to keep the main message and the tone of the original passage, which is about the challenge of giving up worldly wealth and following Jesus. I hope this story helps you understand the meaning and the significance of this passage. ?
Do you have any questions or comments about this story or the passage? I would love to hear your thoughts. ?
Source: Conversation with Bing, 2/2/2024
(1) Matthew 19:16-26 NIV – The Rich and the Kingdom of God – Just – Bible …. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2019:16-26&version=NIV.
(2) Matthew 19:16-26 NKJV – Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler – Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2019:16-26&version=NKJV.
(3) Matthew 19:16-26 – Bible.com. https://www.bible.com/bible/1/MAT.19.16-26.kjv.
(4) Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 19:16-26 – King James Version. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2019%3A16-26&version=KJV.
(5) Matthew 19:16-26 – Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teach…. https://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/passage/?q=matthew+19:16-26.
(6) en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_19.
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Footnotes
- 1The Giving Pledge Explained | August 2022
- 2Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary : a companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed., Lk 19:8). Jewish New Testament Publications.
- 3C.S. Lewis; Mere Christianity