Attachments and Necessities
What are the things you need most in life? What are the things you want most in life and out of life? Do any of those things keep us from growing closer to God? We are introduced to the “Rich Young Man” in the Gospel who asks Jesus what he must do to “inherit eternal life.” Jesus reminds the young man of the Commandments and the young man proudly tells Jesus that he has been observing them ever since he was little. Then Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing and to go and sell what he has and give it to the poor, for then he will have treasure in heaven. After this, Jesus tells the young man to follow Him. However, the rich young man went away sad for he has many possessions.
It is not enough to follow all the “rules.” The relationship that we share with God is not legalistic; it is an intimate relationship bound by love. It is love that should move us to do something, not simply because it is the “rule” to do so. For the rich young man to follow all the commandments was not enough. His words might be right. His actions might also be right. But, where was his heart? Was his heart in it? Was he more concerned about "inheriting eternal life” or having a relationship with God? Of course now we can see that you cannot have the one without the other, but sometimes we lose sight of that. All that we do and say must be rooted in our relationship with God, rooted in love.
What are the attachments in our lives that keep us from following Christ? (Objects, money, our own way of doing things, etc.) Will we go away sad like the rich young man or will we at least try to sell our possession and follow Christ? One might ask, why can’t we keep our possessions and also follow Christ? The issue here is not really about having material things. It is perfectly fine to have nice things, but do those things keep us from God? Is our focus more on making money so I can buy the latest gadget or is our focus more on my relationship with Christ, knowing that all that I have and am able to do and enjoy is a gift from a God, a gift that stems from having that relationship? At the end of that day, it is not what we have that will get us into heaven. Only Jesus can get us into heaven. Do we know Him?
May we reflect on our relationships today — with God, with others, and even with our possessions. How are they ordered? Where does God stand? May our attachments to worldly possessions and ideas not keep us from seeing what is most important — our relationship with God, that which gives us life.
