AT 7
August 7
Mark 10:23-27. Christ declares the danger of possessing riches.
Is it indeed so very hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, and yet are men so anxious to become rich, and so much disposed to envy the rich, and to count them happy? Are parents so desirous to heap up treasures to leave to their children, and to see them occupy a higher station than themselves? Surely men do not believe this declaration of our Savior. Even the disciples were exceedingly astonished at it. Jesus then explained what he had said, and declared that it was those who trusted in riches who could not enter heaven. But how hard it is to possess them, and not to trust in them!
Let us inquire what it is to trust in riches. It is to feel them to be our own, and not the gift of God. Whether we have earned them by our industry, or inherited them from our parents, they are not our own, but only lent to us, and therefore they ought to be used in promoting God's glory. But the rich are apt to be proud, and to forget who gave them all they possess.
To trust in riches is to look to them for happiness. The favor of God alone can make us really happy. Outward things cannot do it,—neither friends, nor children, nor houses, nor lands—nor all the pleasures, comforts, and honors in the world. Even a child has been heard to say, "Things cannot make people happy." And how do saints now in glory estimate those possessions on which men set their hearts? Do they not regard them as rocks upon which souls are shipwrecked—as snares in which they are taken, and pierced through with many sorrows? It is true that riches might be converted into blessings. But how much grace does it require to use them aright! And how much more grace to feel aright when conscious of having great possessions! Great riches make people forget that they are great sinners, and lead them to neglect the great Savior. The rich have many friends, and often they do not feel the need of a heavenly and almighty Friend. They have great possessions below, and often they are satisfied without an inheritance above. A rich gentleman once said to a day-laborer,
"Do you know to whom those estates belong on the borders of the lake?" "No," replied the laborer. "They belong to me," said the rich man. "And the wood and the cattle—do you know whose they are?" "No." "They are mine also," continued the rich man; "yes, all, all that you can see is mine." The peasant stood still a moment, then pointed to heaven, and in a solemn tone asked, "Is that also yours?"
How apt the rich are to forget to look upwards, and to ask, "Is heaven mine?" Silver and gold cannot purchase it; nothing but a Savior's precious blood. If an angel were commissioned to preach on earth, would he not rather speak to peasants than to princes —for angels must know that they are seldom called to rejoice over a penitent clothed in purple and fine linen. When the Gospel is proclaimed in hovels, and even in prisons, it has far greater success than when it is spoken in courts. A few indeed in the highest stations have been subdued by the power of divine grace; a few honorable counselors, such as Joseph and Nicodemus, have believed; a few honorable women, such as the Viscountess Glenorchy, and the celebrated Countess of Huntingdon, have devoted themselves to the service of God; a few mighty sovereigns, such as our wise Alfred, and our youthful Edward, have honored the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; but the greater part of those who have possessed lands, and riches, who have worn crowns, or coronets, have been satisfied with an earthly portion, and have not sought to obtain a crown of life, and an inheritance that fades not away.