The Defining Decision
Dr. Jim Wilson, October 11, 2009 “Decisions, decisions, decisions”---We face them each day. In many ways, our lives are defined by the decisions we make. Deciding is an inherent aspect of what it means to be a human being. While each and every decision we make has consequences, not all these consequences are of equal weight. For instance, deciding what to wear or what to have for dinner or what movie to see usually has relatively insignificant consequences. Other decisions, such as, what college to attend, or what career path to follow, or whether to accept a job offer, or even whether to study for the math test or go to a concert, would have more serious consequences. And still other decisions such as, the decision to marry or the commitment to doing business with utmost integrity or the decision to live with a spirit of generosity, are what I could label “life-defining decisions.” Such decisions define who you are, what your values are, and how you will behave. I hear a call for this kind of decision in the story Mark tells us. We pick up the story as Jesus and his disciples resume their journey to Jerusalem. That is important to keep in mind. Jesus is going to Jerusalem to confront the religious authorities which gives a special urgency to his teaching and to how people respond. As they begin their journey, a well-dressed young man rushes up to Jesus, falls on his knees before him, and with breathless anticipation asks his question, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The question is not only provocative, it is also typically Jewish. Not only does it ask about the quantity of life, but it also asks about the quality of life as well. Jesus’ response may at first seem somewhat abrupt. “Why do you call me ‘good’?” replies Jesus, “No one is good but God alone.” Note what Jesus response does. It sets the man squarely before God which says to him, “What you seek comes from God alone, not from some celebrity teacher or self-help guru.” It also serves as a check of the man’s sincerity. Is he merely a religious groupie, following the latest trend, or is he serious about finding meaning and purpose in his life. Then Jesus adds, “You know the commandments. You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.” Now Jesus sets the man within his faith tradition. In reminding the man of Torah, Jesus gives voice to the basic conviction of the Jewish faith that obedience to the Mosaic Law is the doorway to life. The man responds to Jesus with words that could be heard as arrogant. I believe it is better to hear these words as frustration, even despair. “Teacher,” says the young man, “I have kept them all since my youth.” He has been obedient, kept the Law, and yet still experiences a nagging sense of incompletion, of something missing. Note that Jesus does not challenge the man’s response, nor does he call into question his integrity. Instead, Mark tells us, Jesus, “looking at him, loved him…” That is critical. For it tells us that what Jesus says next emerges from love, not demand, from compassion for the man, not some additional requirement. Jesus recognizes what the man is missing, but does not offer a diagnosis. Rather, he extends an invitation to fulfillment. “You lack one thing,” says Jesus, “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me.” The man asked a “Big Question” and he got a “Big Answer.” What follows Jesus’ invitation are what have to be among the saddest words in all of Scripture: “When he heard this, he was shocked, and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” Here is a good, decent, sincere man, an obedient and moral man, who is, however, defined by his wealth, and refuses to allow his life to be redefined by the gracious love of Jesus offers him. He decides not to accept Jesus’ invitation and as a result remain blocked from the gift he desires, the gift Jesus holds before him. As Jesus and his disciples watch as the man walks away, he says to the Twelve, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples, perhaps still stunned by the rich man’s response, are now totally perplexed by Jesus’ words. Jesus tries to make his point with a bit of humorous exaggeration: “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.” This time the disciples seem to get the point---but maybe wish they hadn’t. They exclaim, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus replies with a word of grace, “For humans it is impossible, but not for God; for with God all things are possible.” The point scored: eternal life is not something one accomplishes. It is the gift of God that one decides to receive. So what do we hear? I hear Jesus calling you and me, just as he did this nameless young man, to make a life-defining decision, a decision to say “yes” to his invitation to the life of discipleship. What does that mean for us? Before answering that question directly, I would like to clarify what I believe Jesus is not saying. I do not hear Jesus praising poverty nor condemning wealth. Nor do I hear Jesus saying that renunciation of wealth is, in and of itself, the precondition for faithful discipleship. Saying “yes” to Jesus’ invitation and allowing that decision to define our lives is the basic condition. Jesus commands this young man to divest himself of his wealth and give to the poor because he recognizes that for him his possessions are the barrier, are what gets in the way of receiving the gift he so desires. His demand has a particular, not a universal focus. Jesus’ invitation is demanding. It is costly. It is a “Big Answer” to a “Big Question.” While his demand that the young man sell all his possessions and give to the poor is not mean to be a universal prerequisite for discipleship, we are not off the hook, so to speak. This is what Jesus is saying. Here and in many other places in his teachings, Jesus warns of how wealth and possessions can become an obstacle to discipleship. Such warnings must not be lost on us. We are among the world’s wealthy. Wealth and possessions can indeed seduce us into trusting them to save us, to define our lives, to provide meaning and purpose, hope and joy. How many stories have we heard about pro-athletes or corporate executives who have made great wealth and had just about everything, houses, luxury cars, boats, you name it, a life defined by wealth and things material? And then for whatever reason the collapse comes. And nothing is left. Life is left tragically defined. The truth is that a life defined by material things is curved in on itself. It is so concerned with having, it fails to be; it lacks definition. This is Jesus’ point. The larger truth is, however, that wealth and possessions are not the only obstacles to our making this life-defining definition. There are other dependencies,other values, other idolatries that would keep us from saying “yes” to Jesus’ call. Imagine for a moment if you will, that you rush up to Jesus, fall on your knees before him and make your plea, “Lord, what must I do to have a life that is both meaningful and filled with a sense of purpose?” Got the picture in your mind? Now is the moment of truth. As he looks at you with love, what would he demand you give up? What would it be---pride, control, power, possessions, addictions? A story is told about a third grade teacher who presented her class with a math problem. “If you have $.99,” writing the figure on the board, point nine nine,” said the teacher, “and your friend has $99.00,” again writing that figure on the board, nine nine, zero zero. “What is the difference?” A little girl responded immediately, “The dismal point!” True, it is often the dismal point keeps us from life as Jesus intends, a dismal point that can take many forms. Life-defining decisions are decisions that transform our lives, that reorder our priorities , reorient our values, and refocus our perspective. One of the best illustrations of such a decision comes from the pen of Soren Kierkegaard. He tells a tale about a man trapped on the edge of a cliff with a raging fire burning toward him. It will only be a minute or two before the fire consumes him when he hears a voice from below the cliff, amidst the darkness calling, “Jump!” The man answers, “But I can’t see you. There’s only darkness down there!” The voice from the deep shouts back, “It doesn’t matter. Jump! I can see you!” So it is with defining decisions. We jump, so to speak, into God in Christ’s gracious love and follow Jesus, committing our life to him. That is how the new life he gives is defined. The decision must be made. Will we accept Jesus’ invitation to let go of whatever might keep us from following him? Will we allow his gracious love to free us to say “yes” and know our life redefined? It really is a life-defining decision he calls us to make. Decide we must. May God help us! May we respond faithfully. Thanks be to God! Amen! |
