Christ and the Rich Young Ruler by Heinrich Hoffman
If your ward is “correlated” you either just had, or will have a Sunday School lesson about sacrificing worldly possessions to gain salvation. One of the stories that is used is the story of “the rich young man”.
I have a bit of an issue with the conclusions we draw from this story. Here it is, as told by Mark: (Mark 10:17, 19-22)
And when he was gone forth into the way, here came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him…Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour they father and thy mother.
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all thee have I observed from my youth.
And Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsover thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Here’s my issue: We use this story to illustrate a man who fell short. This was a good guy. He actually ran to talk to Jesus and humbly asked him to help know what his next step should be. Bad guys don’t do this.
When Jesus grilled him about the commandments, the young man was able to respond that he had been obedient all his life. Even Christ was impressed, as he loved him.
Next came the big challenge: Sell it all, give away the money, and come along. Wow! That would be tough. I know that I would walk away sad. Wouldn’t you?
Most of us have walked away from appointments with priesthood leaders really sad because we had just been nailed with a calling that we did not want. Sometimes sad, sometimes even irritated. BUT, we dealt with it, and fulfilled our callings anyway. (Do I hear an “Amen”?)
Is there any indication in this story that the young man did not go and do exactly what the Lord told him to do? I would give him the benefit of the doubt. This young man not only sought out the Lord, but he had a fabulous track record of obedience. Why do we leap to the conclusion that his character – built on a lifetime of obedience – suddenly changed? Just because he responded to a huge challenge with a little sadness? That is not what I have seen in my experiences.
Maybe he failed – maybe he succeeded. We were never told. But I think we all judge him a bit harshly.
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Hm. Never thought of it that way before. Thanks for the insight.
Thanks for your insight! I feel the same way 🙂
I know this is an old post, but I remember this lesson. It was a great lesson in which this same interpretation was shared. It led to a wonderful, thought-provoking discussion. It was one of my favorite lessons. (That and, I think it was, the one on the Good Samaritan, which, I remember, also led to a deep and thought-provoking discussion… I wish I could remember it better!)
(ps, in case you were wondering, I’ve been “lurking” since you participated in the celebration of the family proclamation. Lately I’ve been reading through your archives, because I find you funny and interesting. Thank you 🙂
Great insight. And maybe he didn’t drop everything right then because the Savior said “go thy way and sell your things”. So he went his way with a heavy heart, quite possibly bummed because Craigslist wasnt available yet and selling your stuff can be quite a chore!
I love “insighting posts”. Maybe someday I can go to Sunday School Class.
MMM, great insight. Thanks for that.
As I read your comments I thought about my workplace where we spend a lot of time picking apart our very best people so we can sort out who are the very top performers. Until you pointed it out, I hadn’t realized that I do the same thing with this story.
You’re right: he’s a great guy. I think we often use this as a cautionary tale for those of us who consider ourselves to be faithful, and it’s appropriate to do so.
Good insights on Nephi, too. Even Joseph Smith questioned the Lord (eg, D&C 121).
Good insight. I had always been taught that because he was sad, he didn’t follow, but that would be nice if he did.
The riches topic is very interesting also. I think “rich” can be a very relative term. For many people the “rich man” who can’t get into heaven is anyone who makes more money than them.
Interesting. Yes, we went through this exact conversation in our Gospel Principals class. It would have been nice to have you in there to shed a little more enlightenment on things.
I think we tend to judge people in the scriptures way to harshly when we are making the very same mistake we are calling them an idiot for-complaining, not listening to promptings, not having perfect faith that the Lord will provide etc etc.
RJR: I appreciate your thoughts, but I would like to point out that even Nephi struggled with this issue. He wasn’t always “I will go and do”.
After he left Jerusalem with his family, he recorded this in 1 Nephi 2:16: 16 “…wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.”
So, after Lehi had led his family into the wilderness, EVEN NEPHI had a hard heart and did not believe everything Lehi had taught. But, he sorted it out the correct way and moved forward.
“I will go and do, but let me get this sorted out first…”
I tend to agree with you. I feel like he may have left, grieving, and I hope that he got over it and did as the Savior suggested. Sometimes I grieve at letting go of my own hang-ups.
This is why I love the example of the apostles, who “straightway left their nets.” Or King Lamoni’s Father, who offered to give up all of his sins to know God. I can’t say that I’ve reached this level of trust and love in God. I hope to be there one day. For now, I feel like I kind of relate to the rich young ruler. I really want to do well. I really want to keep the commandments. Sometimes, they are easy to keep. Others are a little harder.
-chococatania
Great insight. We had that lesson on Sunday and we had a good discussion … concluding that it’s not the wealth or lack thereof that keeps someone out of heaven … it’s the attitude. Which sometimes needs adjustment … maybe the rich young man adjusted his and we just don’t know about it. Excellent reminder about making false judments. Thanks.
Not wanting to disagree, but, I think the issue is with “come follow me” as you suggested I think this relates to a call to work. The issue comes from the fact it was the same call as issued to the apostles, the difference being they responded by “straightway leaving their nets” or words to that affect. Unlike us receiving a call and going home to mull it over and potentially lick our wounds, I think this call by the master was expected to cause an immediate action of literally following?
I do however agree we sit and judge to easily. If the truth be known, most of us are not like unto Nephi ” I will go I will do” we are more like Lamen and Lemuel who do actually do the job it just takes a bit of moaning at the least and an Angel at worse. Which of us has not moaned and needed a friend to say “come on get on with it” at some point ?
Thanks for the new perspective. I hadn’t thought about it that way before.
Sandy