Whether or not we would be able to resist those temptations is beside the point. At least in the Bible it is obvious who is tempting whom, and with what.  Even we would see it clearly if the devil came to us personified and offered us wealth or power. 

But the devil seems to have gotten a little more sophisticated since Matthew's day.  I was going to say since Jesus' day, but this is still Jesus day.

Unlike Jesus, we don't get one big pitch; we get bombarded with thousands of small ones every day.  On Oprah the other day there were mothers who had monitored the TV to see how many sexual images or references a child received in one day.  It was astronomical.  But what about invitations to want what we don't need and have what we can't afford?  How many times a day are we confronted by the call to buy and to own and to need and to want?

If it was difficult for the rich young man in the Gospel story to sell all his possessions and give alms, then how much harder is it for us?  Even in the church it happens.  I get calls for slick new stewardship programs and glossy new bible study materials.  If you only had these then you would be successful.

And how is success measured?  I received one piece that compared different stewardship campaigns by how much time and effort went into them and how good the response usually was.  The response was measure of course by how much of an increase in pledges your church received.

Is that how Jesus measures the effectiveness of His message?  Did he say to the rich young man, "Sell all your possessions and see Judas my treasurer with the proceeds?" 

Our message ought to be about changing lives and not just about getting a little more of the money that is usually going to movies and CDs and faster cars and bigger houses.  If our message is just like theirs, if we are just doing another commercial that vies for a piece of the pie then we are lost.  We have become the tempter.

Jesus didn't ask the rich young man for his money.  He asked for his life.  He said, sell all your possessions and follow me.  We need to get our message perfectly clear if we are going to be more than just one more vendor with our wares to sell.  Frankly if this is what we are then we will be doomed.  The merchants and advertisers are much better at it.

Perhaps instead of telling the story of the rich young man, the church should listen to it.  And we should reevaluate everything that we do and own and are just as we call our people to do.  And then we should take up our crosses and follow.

I am afraid that we as the church would do exactly as the rich young man did.  We would be shocked and go away grieving.  Because we are not able to separate who we are as Christ's followers from the possessions and the money that define us.

As I write this I am realizing how radical it sounds.  But no more so that the message of Jesus.  No more so than a life offered up for us.  And no more radical that the incredible life in the kingdom that starts with surrendering all.

Lord,
May we hear your voice so clearly that by our lives and by our words, others might hear you too. 
Amen