Making Our Assets Treasure In Heaven

Mark 10:17-30

When we think of the name Ebenezer Scrooge we think of a rich greedy man. He had more money than he could ever need and spent most of his time counting it. He may have been a very rich man, but his wealth did not bring him happiness.

You may also recognise the name Giovanni Casanova. He was an 18th. century Italian. His surname is used to describe male flirts. He was handsome and charming. Those assets turned out to be liabilities. All he is remembered for today is his succession of brief romantic liaisons.

Our Gospel reading tells a similar tale about a man who could have been remembered for more than just being a rich young man. He could have led a very happy and useful life. As far as we know it never happened. The last we know of him is that he walked away from Jesus “sad, for he was a man of great wealth”. Clearly his assets had become liabilities.

We could be like that young man. Our greatest assets could turn out to be our worst liabilities. It all depends how we deal with them. If we see our asset as a sign of personal merit, they become liabilities. In the time of Jesus good fortune was a sign of good favour, and ill fortune was a sign of divine disfavour. This is why the Apostles we so amazed when Jesus said it was hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. They thought rich people already had one foot in the door of heaven. It was obvious that God was on their side. Jesus did not agree, He said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Our wealth does not mean that we are more deserving than the poor. It only means that we are more fortunate or careful with our money. Those who enjoy good health are tempted to see it as a sign of their personal merit. That is not necessarily so. They may have looked after their health, but in the first place they were born healthier than others who were less fortunate.

This false way of thinking is enshrined in the Mother Goose rhyme about Little Jack Horner. He is the boy who “sat in a corner, eating his Christmas pie”. “He stuck in his thumb, and pulled out a plum, and said…” Logically, he should have said, “What a good cook my mother is”. Instead he said, “What a good boy am I.” He gives himself all the praise and not the maker of the pie. It is just as unreasonable for us to see our assets as a sign of our merit. They are not. Every good thing that you and I enjoy is a gift from God. When we fail to see that our assets become liabilities.

Our assets are meant to be put to good use and not hoarded or used entirely on ourselves. We say, “Money cannot buy happiness”. In one sense, it is true. Real happiness is not to be found in the stores where we can spend, spend and spend. But if you buy a poor child shoes and clothing, your purchase produces a double dose of happiness, one for the child and one for you. Money cannot buy happiness as long as we spend it on ourselves, but invest it in another, and it’s a different story.

Mother Teresa devoted her life to helping the poorest of the poor. The people of Calcutta called her “the saint of the gutters.” Money meant nothing to her except as a means of alleviating the suffering of the poor. Pope Paul VI gave her a nearly new Lincoln Continental car. She never rode in it once. She sold it and used the money to start a leper colony in West Bengal. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which included a large amount of money. She gave every penny of it to feed the poor. People have described Mother Teresa as the happiest person they ever met. Who says you can’t buy happiness? Mother Teresa has shown us you can by spending it on the poor.

The young man in our story was very rich. His riches turned out to be a liability. He kept it all for himself. He went away from Jesus sad. If he had listened to Jesus he could have gone away a very happy man. He also threw away the privilege of being a very close follower of Jesus because Jesus asked Him after giving his money to the poor to follow Him.

Lord Jesus, today you give us the opportunity to look at our assets and see what good use we are putting them to. By thinking of others and using it wisely on the poor, we help to make them happy and we are storing up treasure and happiness for ourselves in heaven.