“Now someone came up to him and said, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ ‘Which ones?’ he asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.” —Matthew 19:16–22
This encounter between Jesus and a young man has far more to do with our desires than our dollars, contrary to what we might perhaps believe. In this encounter, Jesus points to what is on the throne of our lives, and our willingness or unwillingness to relinquish our rights of it to the One who has all rights to it. Money, people, things, fame, acceptance, work, perfection, family, beauty, and whatever else is important to us are not intrinsically bad. However, it is the priority placed upon them which can make them wrong. Jesus calls us to be “one thing” people. Everything in our lives is to fall under Him. He created us; He knows perfectly well what we need.
We are all capable of deluding ourselves into thinking our desires are right and good. “The heart is deceitful” (Jeremiah 17:9) Scripture tells us. The rich young ruler in the passage of scripture for today is a good example. He was humble in approaching the Master. He was apparently earnest in seeking to do what was right. Yet he misses the selfishness of his own heart, and when faced with the realization of it and Jesus’ desire of his release from it, he becomes sorrowful. He just does not seem able to let go of his desires—no matter what he had expressed earlier.
Scripture gives us several examples of “one thing” people who had their priorities right: God first and everything else under Him.
David writes:
“I have asked the LORD for one thing—this is what I desire! I want to live in the LORD’S house all the days of my life, so I can gaze at the splendor of the LORD and contemplate in his temple.” —Psalm 27:4
Luke tells us about Mary, Martha’s sister:
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.’” —Luke 10:38–42
Paul writes regarding himself in Philippians:
“I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways.” —Philippians 3:12–15
Become More
“I know what it’s like to say you’re trying to help someone even though you’re well aware it was really a halfway-decent excuse to satisfy something in yourself. —Angie Smith
“The gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil’ (Jeremiah 29:11). It declares that while God’s hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.” —Ellen G. White
Further Reflections
“You shall have no other gods before me” —Exodus 20:3
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. —Matthew 6:31–33
“We sin because our longings are so strong at the operational level—not at the verbal level, where we confess ‘Jesus is Lord’—we feel that something in addition to Jesus is necessary for our happiness and well-being. We will never find the full freedom promised in the gospel if all we want from Jesus is relief.” —James Wilhoit