The Heaton File

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4)

Perseverance Is Hard Work

Gary Player won more international golf tournaments in his day than anyone else. People have told him throughout his career, “I’d give anything if I could hit the golf ball like you.” On one particularly tough day, Player was tired and frustrated when once again he heard that comment, I’d give anything if I could hit the ball just like you.” Player’s usual politeness failed him as he replied tersely to the spectator, “No, you wouldn’t. You’d give anything to hit a golf ball like me if it was easy. Do you know what you’ve got to do to hit a golf ball like me? You’ve got to get up at five o’clock in the morning every day, go out on the course, and hit one thousand golf balls. Your hand starts bleeding; you walk up to the clubhouse, wash the blood off your hand, slap a bandage on it, and go out and hit another thousand golf balls. That’s what it takes to hit a golf ball like me.”

Perseverance is the ingredient to the Christian life. It takes the character of hitting the golf ball day after day, hours without end, to be successful. Knowing the Bible takes endless hours of reading and studying to come to a mature understanding of scripture. It does not happen all at once. If you have a daily Bible reading and prayer life, you will notice the subtle changes taking place. But it takes time. A child grows gradually, and a child of God grows gradually. Concerns are raised if a child does not show signs of growth, and doctors are called. The development of a child of God is harder to detect, but sadly, many who have been Christians for many years are still infants in the knowledge of God.

The idea of perseverance is the ability to keep on keeping on regardless of what is happening. Having a determined spirit to overcome a temptation requires a diligent heart unyielding to the corruption of sin. Satan can be defeated. The Holy Spirit tells the Christian to resist the devil, and he will flee. It takes a strong heart that has been exercised daily to overcome the wiles of the evil one. If a person begins each day with a renewed spirit of courage to overcome what needs to be done that day, they will find that in time, they can ‘hit the ball straighter and further.’

Professional athletes spend many hours honing their skills. Doctors become greater surgeons through endless hours of study and learning. The mature Christian is someone who has spent time in the Book, listening to the voice of God, talking to the Father, and encouraging one another. Experience is a great tutor of perseverance. Having a persistent spirit to remain faithful to the Lord is the singular goal of the Christian. They ask, “How can I become stronger?” And then they spend hours on the range hitting thousands of balls. If you want greater faith, put in the effort and you will be rewarded.

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” (Luke 22:31-33)

Big Words For Small Faith

Words of courage are more easily said before the fight begins. Peter was a confident spirit with more self-reliance in his faith than he possessed. He did not know how much his life would change in less than 24 hours, but nothing could have prepared him for the events that would escalate to the murder of his beloved teacher and friend, Jesus. Among the apostles, there was envy and jealousy who would sit at the right and left of Jesus when He became king. The twelve failed to grasp the nature of the coming kingdom. As a result of their ignorance, they argued among themselves about who should be considered the greatest.

Jesus knew His hour had come, and to hear the twelve arguing among themselves who would be regarded as the most important must have discouraged the Lord. The Lord gently rebukes the proud apostles, reminding them that greatness comes from servitude. To be the greatest among men, one must become as the younger. By directing his thoughts to Peter, Jesus warns him of the devil’s wiles seeking to destroy his faith. Jesus prayed to the Father to protect Peter, but Simon Peter was in a dangerous place. Peter did not understand what Jesus meant and boldly declared his complete, undying, fully devoted loyalty to Jesus no matter what came.

A Roman prison is a very dismal and dangerous place to be. No one wanted to spend time in a Roman jail. To die a martyr’s death is a noble aspiration. Many died for what they believed. Peter affirmed to Jesus with words of courage that he would be willing to go to prison on behalf of Jesus. He would also die for Jesus. Great words. Jesus knew the heart of Peter and understood the words meant a lot to Peter, but Jesus knew how frail Peter’s faith was. Peter did not know how weak his faith was. Courage came quickly for Peter because he had not witnessed the arrest of Jesus by a mob and trials by the Jewish council.

A few hours after Peter’s declaration of courage, Peter denied knowing Jesus. His courage had turned to cursing and then to weeping bitterly. Simon’s faith could not stand the test of those who thought the man sitting near them at the fire was a follower of Jesus. If Peter confessed, they might arrest him and put him in prison. They could have killed Peter for being a follower of the man from Nazareth. Peter denied Jesus three times. When the rooster crowed, Peter’s heart was crushed. Where was the emboldened courage that once passed the lips of the man who walked on water? Big words don’t go well with a small faith.

Peter would rebound from his denial and become one of the most influential parts of the early church. The apostle continued to struggle with his faith. He was less emboldened to speak courageous words without having proper faith. Peter’s epistles reflect the growth of the man of small faith to a disciple with great faith – and courage. If a man must suffer, let him suffer as a Christian and glorify God. Peter knew this lesson all too well.

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life. I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts. The wicked wait for me to destroy me, but I will consider Your testimonies. I have seen the consummation of all perfection, but Your commandment is exceedingly broad. (Psalm 119:89-96)

Truth That Does Not Move

Abraham Lincoln once told of a farmer trying to teach his son how to plow a straight furrow. In the time-honored tradition, he told the boy to keep his eye on some object at the other end of the field and plow straight for it. The boy started plowing, and the farmer went about his chores.

When he returned after several hours to check on the boy’s progress, he was shocked to find something that looked like a question mark instead of straight rows. The boy had obeyed his father’s instructions. He had fixed his eyes on something on the other side of the field – a cow. Unfortunately, the cow had moved. Evidently, the father forgot to tell his son to look for a stable object that wouldn’t shift or move around.

Everyone needs direction, and the challenge becomes determining the object of that direction. Many, like the boy learning to plow, choose an object without considering the impact of the decision. A cow would make a good object to focus on if it did not move. Choosing the cow became a problem because the animal moved throughout the field grazing, causing the boy to follow its path. The furrows would have turned out much differently if the boy had chosen a tree.

The contrast between human wisdom and divine knowledge is why the world is in the shape it is in. Whenever men try to follow their own wisdom, they follow a path that always changes. The laws of men are constantly changing, superseding previous laws to fit the moral code of the day. Morality has changed dramatically from fifty years ago. Man cannot trust human laws because they change frequently. Like the cow that moves seeking greener pastures, the wisdom of the human heart changes with the winds of time.

God’s word does not change. Consider that the writings of Moses are more than three thousand years old, the Psalms of David are 2700 years old, and the epistles of Paul are two thousand years old, and they have not changed. The Bible is a complete revelation of God’s divine word, which remains unmovable and unchanged. Human wisdom attempts to rewrite the word of God, but what is settled in Heaven cannot be changed. When men set their hearts on the word of God, they find it does not move, and their lives become “straight furrows” of hope and peace.

The Bible is the divine word of God because if the Lord can create a universe that testifies to His glory, He can give the world a book that remains unchanged throughout the ages. What a man can know about the divine word in the year 1134 is the same word that a man can read today. It does not matter what culture he lives; the Bible is relevant. No book written by man can furnish every generation with truth like the Bible.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (Daniel 3:1-2)

False Gods

By 1590, the Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi exercised control over all of Japan. On one occasion, he commissioned a colossal statue of Buddha for a shrine in Kyoto. It took 50,000 men five years to build, and Hideyoshi himself sometimes worked incognito alongside the laborers. But the work was scarcely completed when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in 1596 brought the roof of the shrine crashing down and wrecked the statue. In a rage, Hideyoshi shot an arrow at the fallen colossus. “I put you here at great expense,” he shouted, “and you can’t even look after your own temple!”

Nebuchadnezzar built a great image for the people to worship, but three Hebrew young men defiled the king’s order to bow and worship his image. God rescued the three Hebrews from a burning furnace, and the Holy Spirit included the story in the revelation to remind me of the one true God. The image made by Nebuchadnezzar has long been gone to the dustbin of history, but the faith of three young Hebrews lives on. The Hebrews embraced true religion and served the true God who made heaven and earth. False gods have no power; so why would a man worship such an image?

False religion has one central theme that labels it false. It is predicated on the idea that when man creates a god, it has power and a mind. What men cannot see is that the god they worship is nothing more than a creation of their imagination. The creature creates a god to become his creator and master. Isaiah, a prophet of the living God, illustrates the futility of man creating his own god when a man who goes into the forest and chops down a tree. He uses part of the tree to make a fire, cook his food, and stay warm. It takes the remainder of the tree, makes a carved image, and falls down to worship it.

The futility of creating a false god is the god cannot speak or understand. A man will fall down before an image and pray to it for deliverance. The god does not have eyes that see or hearts that know. If a fire ravages the image, man must rescue the idol. In a storm, the man must deliver his god from harm. Idols cannot save themselves. Isaiah asked, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Worshiping idols is a large part of religions throughout the world still today. To the mind of many in the Christian religion, the worship of idols and images is a blasphemy to the character of God. Any Christian faith that embellishes their religion with images is a false religion. Idol worship does not have to be bowing down to an image of stone, gold, or silver. In the minds of many followers of Christ, bowing down to an image is the last thing to be considered. However, idolatry is not always image driven.

Anything more important than our relationship with God is an image of idolatry and our totem. Paul said that covetousness is idolatry. What is covetousness? Seeking after the riches and materialism of the world. Covetousness is an inordinate desire for all the good things in life that bring no happiness. We make money, our homes, possessions, prestige, and pleasures the gods of our lives. The heart worships these things. Like all idols, we must care for them; they don’t care for themselves. And then a funny thing happens: we leave all our gods to someone else when we die. False religion. It’s false.

Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (Genesis 1:20-23)

The Remarkable Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern is one of the most remarkable birds in the world. It migrates farther than any other bird, traveling late in August from its nesting place within the Artic Circle to its winter “lodgings” in Antarctica and then back to the Artic Circle again – an annual round trip of more than 11,000 miles! These tiny birds make their long trip on nothing but the urgings and endurance God put with them. The force that drives them also empowers them for their journey.

Bald eagles are common in North America, including most of Canada, the continental United States, and northern Mexico. They are common in Alaska and can be found there all year. It is a graceful and powerful bird that soars on thermal convection currents with speeds of nearly 45 miles an hour.

Comparing the Arctic Tern and the Bald Eagle is an obvious overstatement. The Bald Eagle can weigh up to 10 pounds, while the Arctic Tern weighs 4.5 ounces. Arctic Terns have a wingspan of 33 inches compared to the wingspan of the Bald Eagle at 7 feet 7 inches. There is no comparison between the two birds. Imagine the symbol of the United States as the Artic Tern. It does not elicit great power and confidence as the Bald Eagle. But the Bald Eagle does not fly 11,000 miles a year.

What is remarkable about the Artic Tern is the reliance on his Creator. This small bird would not be on the list of creatures to fly from the edge of the earth to the other and then back again. Flying over the vast ocean, how does the bird know where to go and how far? What is the compass inside him that brings him safely to his destination and back home without fail? Where does he find the strength to make such a journey? The Bald Eagle is a large bird and majestic but has nothing on the Arctic Tern.

There are lessons to learn from this tiny creature. God can do great things with small things. Elijah learned this lesson when the Lord came to him in a small, still voice. One man can change his life to change his community, which can change the world. Leaven is tiny, but what great power it possesses. You do not have to be the majestic bird of prey to accomplish great things. The Arctic Tern has a resilient spirit that will not give up. He has so much energy bottled up inside to show God’s glory.

The Arctic Tern trusts in the God who made him. The Arctic Tern outsmarts man because man cannot bring himself to trust in his Creator. Human wisdom makes man believe he is wiser than God. Could man accomplish what the tiny bird does yearly without guidance and direction? The Lord has given you and me all we need to reach Heaven. Do you trust in God’s word? Let go and fly on the wings of faith.

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?” And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So, Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!” And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:1-7)

Ungrateful Hearts Filled With Rebellion

The Hebrews were a chosen people delivered by the Lord from Egyptian bondage with great and powerful signs. Moses brought the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, which the Hebrews witnessed. At the Red Sea, with no visible path to escape and the Egyptian army pressing hard against them, the Hebrews thought they were to be slaughtered. Moses showed the people the saving power of God by parting the waters of the Red Sea and commanding the Hebrews to walk across on dry land. When the Egyptian army followed the multitude into the sea, God brought the waters upon them and destroyed them.

Witnessing the signs of God’s power and wrath against the nation of Egypt was supposed to prove to the children of Abraham that the Lord would never forsake them. On the night of the tenth plague, God demonstrated his goodness and wrath when He saved all the Hebrews who placed blood on the doorpost and lintel and killed the firstborn in all of Egypt, including the animals. Death filled the land of Egypt except where the Hebrews lived. Faced with hopelessness, God again showed His power to save by delivering the Hebrews and destroying the greatest army on the earth.

It did not take long for the hearts of the Hebrews to forget the power of God. Shortly after crossing the Red Sea, the people (nearly two million souls) camped in Rephidim between the Wilderness of Sin and Sinai. There was no water there, and the souls of the people became discouraged. They would have known the Lord would provide for them if they had great faith. The images of the plagues and the bodies of the dead Egyptian army on the seashore were fresh in their minds. At that time, they feared the Lord and believed in Moses. When the people came to Marah, they found the waters bitter and undrinkable. God provided them with water. They later complained of not having enough food, and the Lord gave them manna.

At Rephidim, the people became so agitated that they demanded that Moses provide them with water. They accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to kill them and their children and livestock with thirst. God told Moses to stand before the rock in Horeb and strike the rock to bring water to the people. Moses did as the Lord commanded, and the two million souls were satisfied. Moses called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the people and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

How ungrateful the people are toward God. They had forgotten all the Lord had done for them in the past few weeks. How could a powerful God not have the desire to care for His people? The hearts of the Hebrews were filled with contention and disbelief because God did not serve them for their pleasures and wants. When God gave them the Law, He began by reminding them it was He who brought them out of the land of Egypt. The Sabbath was established to remind the people of their deliverance by the hand of God. Celebrating the Passover memorialized the dreadful night death swept over the land, killing all those not under the covenant of blood. The Hebrews were ungrateful for all that God had done.

There is a spirit of ingratitude when people question whether God is among them. In many cases, God is not among the people because of sin. Sometimes, people of God question whether God answers prayers or not because He apparently does not understand how important the requests are that come before Him. Prayers are demanded, not offered as petitions. How dare the people suggest that God was not among them after He had done so many incredible things in their presence? This same spirit can be found in those who complain to God. They think God should serve their every whim. The Bible is the testimony of the power of God, and from its pages, a heart of thanksgiving and gratitude comes to show how much He cares for His people. Stop complaining. Trust in God. Pray.

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)

The Spirit Of Compromise

James Lowell said, “Compromise makes a good umbrella but a poor roof; it is a temporary expedient.” The spirit of compromise is to deny what one believes in in the face of an opportunity to show loyalty. It happens to everyone. In a moment of weakness, peer pressure afflicts the soul, and rather than standing for what one believes to be right, the heart caves in to allow what at one time was wrong. Moral standards change due to compromise. Societal norms established certain principles of right and wrong, which, over time, eroded because of the spirit of compromise. What was once held as a lofty example of morality has quickly turned into accepting the moral opposite.

Compromise is not new to the modern man. It has been the cornerstone of the deception since man was removed from the garden. There was a time in America when the Bible was respected, revered, and read for its message of divine truth. Through the influences of society, the Bible is viewed less as an authority than just a message out of date with the modern mind. The world has gone from the shame of sexual immorality to the acceptance and propaganda of transgenderism, homosexuality, and pornography. There is no shame anymore. The spirit of compromise is alive and well in the human mind.

Marriage used to be viewed as an institution of sanctity where the bed was undefiled. Through the dogma of compromise, divorce is common, living together is expected, and having a child out of wedlock is considered normal. Compromise has allowed ideals once held as a part of the fabric of society to become a byproduct of an out-of-date morality.

James Lowell correctly understands how the compromise of morality is a temporary expedient. It cannot last. When society begins to follow the path of conceding the truth of God’s word for the carnal desires of the flesh, the only end is chaos and ruin. It never has worked. The greatest failure of the human experience is the continued failure to learn from past mistakes. There is an advantage for modern man to peer back in time through numerous centuries and see the successes and failures. Everything presented as a new morality is nothing more than an old sin wrapped in shiny paper with a bow. Man never learns from his mistakes.

The Greeks and the Romans thought they had all the answers. Compromise destroyed them. The revolution of the 1960s was to enlighten the world. Instead, it turned the world dark. Truth compromised is where man becomes his own worst enemy. The only answer is found in the truth – the uncompromised word of God. There is only one truth: the word that comes from God. The Bible is the divine word of God that remains unchanged. When a man compromises the word of God, he invites the judgment of God. It makes a difference in what we believe.

And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15)

God’s View

Success in the mind of man is measured by the greatness of human wisdom, accolades of praise from others, and the monetary worth of the individual. A man who achieves the highest level of accomplishment in the educational world is considered a great man with a higher level of knowledge. The world has always had its heroes: athletes, actors and actresses, musicians, and superstars. Men and women of great wealth are vaunted in the world as great industry leaders whose wisdom is sought. Cities, buildings, parks, schools, and memorials are named after great leaders in every field of human wisdom—men like to esteem others for their accomplishments.

There is value in success, and honor should be accepted for the diligence of industry in accomplishing great feats in life. The reality is that what men lift up as great accomplishments do not impress the Creator of the world. What great feat has humanity accomplished since its beginning that can rival the work of God? A great man can lead a nation to prominence from a historical point of view, but how long does that last? Alexander III of Macedon is remembered as Alexander the Great. Hundreds of monarchs, aristocrats, military leaders, and Christian leaders were labeled “the Great.” Who is really the greatest? It is not man.

Jesus was despised by the Jewish leadership of His day. They derided the man from Nazareth as nothing more than a carpenter’s son. The Pharisees were lovers of money, which gave them a false sense of superiority over others. They felt empowered over men like Jesus of Nazareth. Their justification was found in how men held them in esteem, granting them great powers. In the eyes of God, they were fools. God knew their hearts. It did not matter what men saw on the outside. What matters is what God sees and knows. The Pharisees appeared righteous in public, but God knew their hearts. Jesus reminds them what the world honors is detestable in the sight of God. 

The great tragedy of the human story is when men seek to attain fame and fortune to be successful; they make themselves fools before the Almighty God. There is nothing that humanity can match for the power and majesty of the Lord God. Who makes the sunrise and paints the sunsets but God? The universe is a drop in the bucket in the presence of God. Man is nothing but a speck of dust, and this atomic particle of dirt exalts itself as something great? God sees the heart and is comforted when the heart humbles itself before Him. A small child who believes in God is greater than the wisest man among men because she loves God. If a man wants to be exalted, let him allow God to exalt him. What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. It comes down to whose viewpoint is followed.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Doris Day Had It Wrong

In the 1950s and 1960s, Doris Day was a successful American actress and singer. She starred in numerous movies and made many music recordings. In the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” starring opposite Jimmy Stewart, Day sang what would become her signature song, “Que Sera Sera.” The English-language phrase suggested a “cheerful fatalism” as whatever was going to be would be. While the song is a pleasant melody made popular by the charming Doris Day, the content of the song suggests a fatalistic view of life that is out of the person’s control. In other words, whatever will happen in life has been predetermined.

The philosophy of fatalism is rooted in the doctrine of Calvinism. Calvinists believe God establishes the future and is unmovable. John Calvin taught all men are totally depraved in spirit with no hope of redemption. If a man is to be saved, it can only be done by the unconditional election of God, forcing the individual to receive salvation. When Jesus died on the cross, His death was limited to only those who God had chosen before the foundation of the world. There was nothing a man could do to be saved if God did not choose him. Through the irresistible grace of God, a man is given eternal life, and once he is saved, nothing can change his state of salvation. This is better known as “once saved, always saved.”

Calvinism is a predominate philosophy found in many forms in almost all faiths. Some religious groups embrace the full doctrine of Calvin, while others only accept a few. There are those in the Lord’s church who unknowingly follow a Calvinistic doctrine of “Que Sera Sera” that God controls everything and determines everything that will be done in life without the approval of the human heart. Whatever is to be has been determined. If a man dies, God made that happen. Language such as “It was his time” or “His number was up” follow the Calvinistic model of God’s omniscience.

The Bible teaches that every man possesses self-determination or free will. God works His will in the affairs of men as he chooses, but He will not and cannot force His will upon the human heart without denying His righteousness. Whatever the future will be is determined by the free will of a man’s heart to serve God or follow the devil. God does not predetermine salvation for individuals. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That is a choice of man. He can say yes or no. If a man finds himself in the torments of eternal condemnation, he can only blame himself.

God sends His rain on the just and the unjust. The blessings of life can be enjoyed by anyone who receives those blessings. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, God revealed Himself to man in the written word to bring the heart to an obedient faith. Jesus said those who are saved are those who do the will of the Father. Salvation is a choice. No one can be saved by being only good or religious. God cannot save a heart that refuses to accept His will. What the future holds is in your hands, and you will decide. That decision will be yours to take with you when you stand before God. What is your eternal future? That will be your choice.

Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” 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, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22)

The Greatest Sadness

An unnamed young man was good and devoted to keeping the Law of Moses. He came to Jesus seeking spiritual guidance and hope. His life was filled with the regulations of the law and the commitment to keep the commands of God with sincerity. He was blessed with abundant wealth, allowing him to live a very privileged life. His home was large and spacious, with servants at his beck and call. He wore the finest garments money could buy. There was never a time when there was a lack of food and drink. Many festive gatherings took place at his home with his many friends. The life of the young man was nearly set to perfection.

Jesus had finished instructing the Pharisees with their testing questions and had spent time with little children. The young man approached Jesus and honored Him by calling Him a “Good Teacher.” Jesus deflected the compliment to honor His Father. The young man wanted to know what to do to have eternal life. His question was a business proposition of what good thing he needed to do to be saved. Jesus reminded him to keep the commandments of the Lord. Nothing is more primary than a man obeying the word of God to be saved.

If the young man wants to enter eternal life, he must keep the commandments of God. He understood that but then asked Jesus to explain which law he needed to keep doing as some good thing to have eternal life. Jesus had answered his question, but he wanted to have a more specific answer. Quoting five of the Ten Commandments, Jesus summarized the law to show the young man that obedience to God’s commands was necessary. Proudly, the young man said he had kept all those things since his youth. He probably did to a great degree, but he lacked one thing.

Jesus astonished the rich young man and the disciples who witnessed the interaction when the Lord told the very wealthy young man that eternal life would come at the cost of every part of his wealth. To possess eternal life, the man must dispose of everything he had, give all to the poor, and follow Jesus. The young man was stunned. He came to Jesus thinking his life was as perfect as possible. His view of his relationship with God was firm with conviction. He only wanted to know what good thing he would need to do to obtain eternal life. The answer of Jesus crushed him.

One of the saddest scenes in Biblical history is when the rich young man turned and walked away from Jesus. The man had come to the right person with the most important question a man can ask. What destroyed the man is the answer that would cost him all his earthly wealth. He had great possessions, and he was unwilling to give them up. As he walked home, he weighed in the balance the words of Jesus of giving all his wealth to the poor; or keeping his money and enjoying the best of life. He chose the latter. The appeal of wealth was greater than his love for God.

The story of the rich young man repeats itself constantly in the story of salvation. Many want to go to heaven, but few are willing to pay the price. The desire for the pleasures of life is too strong to give up. When given a choice to serve the Lord and follow Him or to keep living in the worldly pleasures of life; the choice is made to walk away. The rich young man lived a carefree life spending his great wealth. Then he died. It was then he remembered the words of Jesus and how much he wished he had listened to and heeded them. What good are all his riches now that he is in torment? It is too late.

A heart filled with the world’s cares cannot see God. There is no desire to think about eternity. The only thing that matters is the pleasures of the here and now – but at a terrible cost. There is no value for a man to lose his soul over anything on this earth, but it happens every day. How sad the heart cannot see the consequence of pleasures that last for a short time. A life will be crushed with the refusal to follow the will of God. There is no greater sadness than those who turn away from God.