deepundergroundpoetry.com
A Chance to Rewrite the Ending of the Story of the Rich Young Ruler
The "rich young ruler asks Christ
What shall i do to earn eternal life?"
Christ answered, "What does the Law say,
Do not steal, honor Father and Mother, etc."
The rich ruler replied, "All these i have done since my youth"
Christ realized it was relatively easy for the rich boy
to keep the Seventh Commandment ("you shall not steal"),
for his wealth allowed him freedom from that temptation.
To show him that he wasn't as righteous as he may have thought,
Christ asked him to "sell your possessions and distribute the money to the poor."
That was too much for him, "for he had great possessions"(Matthew 19.20;Mark 10.17;Luke 18.18).
He walked away, sorrowful, exposed for what he was, self-centered.
We all have the chance to give up stuff we hold dear - for the sake of "the poor"
Or at least for the sake of society in general, "the greater good."
And because it stands in the way of our walk with Christ.
But like "the rich young ruler," we walk away sorrowful.
But on the surface we may appear to walk with Christ.
For we continue to read the Bible, attend Church, pray to God.
It's only inside, in our hearts that we have flunked out, walking away,
though Christ calls us to give up our "treasure" of lustful thoughts.
I'm not young, nor am i rich.but I feel like the guy in the story.
For I have "great possessions" if vain imaginings count as such.
What shall i do to earn eternal life?"
Christ answered, "What does the Law say,
Do not steal, honor Father and Mother, etc."
The rich ruler replied, "All these i have done since my youth"
Christ realized it was relatively easy for the rich boy
to keep the Seventh Commandment ("you shall not steal"),
for his wealth allowed him freedom from that temptation.
To show him that he wasn't as righteous as he may have thought,
Christ asked him to "sell your possessions and distribute the money to the poor."
That was too much for him, "for he had great possessions"(Matthew 19.20;Mark 10.17;Luke 18.18).
He walked away, sorrowful, exposed for what he was, self-centered.
We all have the chance to give up stuff we hold dear - for the sake of "the poor"
Or at least for the sake of society in general, "the greater good."
And because it stands in the way of our walk with Christ.
But like "the rich young ruler," we walk away sorrowful.
But on the surface we may appear to walk with Christ.
For we continue to read the Bible, attend Church, pray to God.
It's only inside, in our hearts that we have flunked out, walking away,
though Christ calls us to give up our "treasure" of lustful thoughts.
I'm not young, nor am i rich.but I feel like the guy in the story.
For I have "great possessions" if vain imaginings count as such.
Published 16th Jan 2016
| Edited 28th Jan 2016
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
likes 1
reading list entries 0
comments 2
reads 540
Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
17th Jan 2016 9:24am
You have put another angle on 'possessions', if our thoughts are possessions.
17th Jan 2016 8:48pm
Thanks for passing by.Our thoughts can possess us in that they are our chance to play the movie director, and leading actor and writer. Yes, my fantasizing appeals to my ego. Let me say, now as i think of it that Christ was asking of the RYR(rich young ruler) basically what Christ was himself doing or getting ready to do(when He went to the Cross). He was giving up His "possessions" in terms of his own body.
