Matthew 19:16-30
Only God is Good
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
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, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
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.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, 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 wife 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.
Matthew 6:9-24
God and Money
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Luke 9:57-58
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Galatians 5:22-23
The Fruit of the Spirit
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
When ask about what must one do good to inherit eternal life, Jesus turned the question basically into, "What is Good?"...When Jesus was ask about goodness and doing good things, He told the one who ask the question that only God is Good...
If one ask you what is good, how would you answer?...Or when one asks someone today, what is good, we most likely would hear a different answer than the one Jesus gave...We might hear about materialism, wealth, and consumerism...We might hear about an accumulation of possessions...We might hear about having the best of jobs and careers...We might hear about having or getting a big, new house...We might hear about a family, but will we probably will not hear much about God, and only that God is Good...
Jesus’ mindset is on God...He knows what is good in life, and that it is a life about God, because only He is Good...And Jesus teaches us that we cannot serve two masters, and money and material possessions over time becomes a master...Jesus teaches us that we do not even need possessions or even a house to lay your head, because He had no house when He was out teaching as a Traveling Rabbi...Jesus had little or no possessions, and He did live the good life...Jesus’ world revolves around God...And because it revolves around God, humility, forgiveness, mercy, and love is the good life...The good life can be found in the fruit of the Holy Spirit and living your life following that fruit...