Lust for Gold

Mark 10:17, 19-22

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’ ” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

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Forget your lust ... for the rich man's gold
All that you need ... oh, Lord, is in your soul
You can do this ... oh, baby ... if you try
All that I want for you my son ... is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be somethin' ... you love and understand
Baby, be a simple ... oh, be a simple man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can

"Simple Man" by Ronnie VanZandt and Garry Rossington

It's easy to want the good things in life. Who doesn't like a nice house and car? Who doesn't like good food and drink? Who doesn't feel glad when the season of want ends and the season of plenty begins? Well, in America these things are seen as the fruit of labor that is repaid in gold.

So what must I do to inherit eternal life? For this rich man, he didn't have to steal or kill to eat bread every day so breaking those commandments was unnecessary. Since most wealth in the ancient world was inherited, honoring his father and mother would have been a part of walking through his house every day.

As for false witness, defrauding others, and adultery, I'll take him at his word. He's done the minimum required. Good for him.

Ronnie VanZandt sang of a man receiving the word of God at his mother's knee. "All that you need is in your soul. All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied." Everything you need is given to you. Everything else is gravy-and no matter how yummy gravy is-and that's not always good for the soul.

Simplicity, the simplicity that comes with discarding earthly concerns about wealth and power and seeking the nest egg of life in Christ is where life lies. All else is just fancy things that tarnish over time. Life in Christ is the one thing that lasts forever.