“It’s the Economy!” – FBC Morning Light (11/4/2024)

Well, good Monday morning to you. I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and now we launch into the first full week of November. Today, in our Bible reading, we're in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, reading some verses in Luke 18, Matthew 19, and Mark 10.

One of the accounts that occurs in all three of these Gospel records is that of the rich young ruler, and I want to focus on the passage in Matthew 19, where Matthew records this interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler.

Recently, I did a series on Sunday nights in our church on evangelistic encounters in the Gospels, and speaking of Jesus' evangelistic encounters, and this is one of them, where Jesus encounters a man who is self-sufficient.

What makes him feel so self-sufficient? Part of it is his morality, to be sure, but another part of it has to do with his finances, his financial stability, his wealth. He was a rich young ruler. I thought about the relationship between this guy and most of us, how easily it is that we fall into the notion that, I need to have a great deal of wealth, however you define great deal and wealth, in order to feel safe and secure in the future.

Let's think about it. Tomorrow is election day, and if you haven't already voted in early voting, I trust you're going to go to the polls and you're going to cast your vote for the next president and vice president, as well as members of Congress and Senate and local elections as well.

But what is one of the primary concerns that directs people in their voting? Historically speaking, one of the most motivating issues that determine how people vote is the economy. Frankly, how often have you heard presidential candidates ask the question, are you better off, and Now, I'm not suggesting that that is not a legitimate question, and I'm not suggesting that such an issue shouldn't drive, at least inform or influence, how we vote in the election.

After all, we are to seek the welfare of the nation in which we live. But that being said, how many of us are motivated to vote in such a way because we look at our security, our future security, wrapped up in how big our bank account is, or how big our portfolio is, or how secure our investment, our retirement funds are, things of that nature.

Again, I'm not suggesting that those things have no importance whatsoever. I think they do. We live in a world where it takes money to eat. But that can't be our trust. That can't be where we put our trust.

That's what Jesus is making clear in his interaction with this rich young ruler. As the guy comes to him and says, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life? When all is said and done, Jesus touches on the nerve of where this guy's trust really is.

He says to him, what you need to do is you need to go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me. But how did he respond to that? Well, you know the story, I'm sure.

It says in verse 22, Matthew 19, when the young man heard that he went away sorrowful. He went away and he went away sorrowful. Why? Because he had great possessions. He just could not bring himself to let go of his possessions.

They were the source of his trust, the focus of his trust. My security, our security, our true wealth is found not in what we accumulate in this earth, but it's found in Christ and in following him. Let's be sure that our trust is placed in the right person today.

Our Father and our God, we thank you for this challenge from your word. I pray that we would not fall victim to the thinking of this rich young ruler. Instead, O Lord, may we follow Christ wholly and completely, yielding all to him.

And this we ask in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. All right, listen, hope you have a good Monday, and your week gets off to a good start. God bless.