Posted on 06/05/2026 10:02:44 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Fifty-five years ago this month, I was sitting in a seminary commencement service like this one, ready to receive my degree. One of my professors was giving the address. The title of his message was this: “Remember the Rich Young Man.” And to help us remember, he gave each of us a one-dollar bill. I don’t recall whether it was his suggestion or not, but I took that one-dollar bill home and said to Noël, “I want to keep this in front of me for the rest of my life.” So, she decoupaged it for me and it has been visible in my study for 55 years, wherever we have lived.
That message and that dollar bill and its presence with me for five-and-a-half decades have been a great service to me. How many thousands of times have I looked up and seen this dollar bill and heard the voice of Jesus:
John, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Don’t want to be rich! Don’t want to be rich! A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Make your life count. But not this way. Not money. Give every ounce of energy you have to spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples in my name. I’ll meet every need you have. I’ll be with you. But not if you want to be rich. Remember the rich young man.
So, in these few minutes that we have together, I would like to try to do the same thing for you that my professor did for me. I’ll start by giving you each a one-dollar bill...
(Excerpt) Read more at desiringgod.org ...
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,’ 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.”
~ Matthew 19
John Piper’s the same guy who a few years ago practically said you’re not a real Christian if you don’t take the “covid” injection.
humm. scans right, scripture is right and true, but somehow this feels wrong.
God doesn’t hate money (He likes fair coinage and weights), and He doesn’t hate honest commerce. hating a picture of a dollar bill, somehow misses the point. it’s almost like some kind of reverse idol, i.e., money = bad.
i think Jesus’ point with the parable of the rich young ruler was more making the point to his disciples that you can’t buy your way into the Kingdom of Heaven. in fact, the point is ‘Follow, me’ because I’m the only way into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ah well, my two cents.
!!
The church we attend has a love affair with this guy, Piper. I don’t know much about him, but our ladies book club chose one of his books once. Mind-numbingly boring.
Also, within the last few months, he went pro-immigration (including illegal), based on Leviticus 19:34. He stirred up quite a brouhaha. He ignored the part about how sojourners must assimilate into the society.
He cherry-picked from Leviticus. He didn’t mention Leviticus 25:44-46 giving instructions on how to buy slaves. Also that “sojourners” and their children could be owned as property for life, and “willed” to your beneficiaries — a permanent inheritance.
His take on the Rich Young Ruler’s wealth didn’t really have so much to do with money and possessions. I had to do with the man’s willingness to sacrifice everything to follow Christ. (Turns out, he wasn’t all that willing.) I had to do with his heart.
God often blesses his followers with wealth. I doubt that these people scream, “I WANT TO BE RICH!” It happens according to God’s plan; He knows who can handle it and who can’t, and what a person’s priorities are.
IMO.
1 Timothy 6:10.
Nailed it!
Proverbs praises industry and thrift and mentions wealth as a blessing. Abraham, David, Solomon etc very rich.
If we take scripture as a whole, as we should, we learn to be wary of the power wealth has to become an idol in our lives. Poverty can be an idol too. Poverty does not make you holy.
The rich man did not come to worship Jesus. He came hoping to justify himself and be acknowledged as justified by Jesus because he had obeyed the law. When he didn’t obey the law, he just paid his way out of it as was the custom then. In the eyes of that society, he was successful and righteous.His wealth would have been proof that he was blessed by God.
I have always lived within my means.
so true.
but i don’t think that applies to the rich young ruler and the parable. i don’t think he loves his money (probably because he inherited it and his position and didn’t sacrifice for it), and is therefore an evil young man. (and i don’t subscribe to calvinist view of total depravity theology), but he certainly puts his faith in his wealth above his faith in Jesus, and that is certainly a sin.
i don’t think so—although it is true that the love of money is a root of evil; but see my additional comment about the motive of the rich young ruler.
I didn’t know he went pro-immigration. There’s really something wrong with this guy.
I went to Leviticus 19:34 to refresh my memory of it. And I noticed the line “love him as yourself” actually speaks against illegal immigration. Because if I were an illegal immigrant, loving myself would entail either turning myself in or going back to my country. Holding others accountable, just as I do myself, is love.
Exodus 20:3 KJV
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