But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
The young ruler who sincerely sought eternal life went away grieving when he heard that to be perfect and gain heavenly treasure he must sell all, give to the poor, take up the cross and follow Christ. He refused because his great possessions were his idol and supreme love, which he valued above Christ's fellowship and the unseen reward. His departure exposed that his claim to have kept the commandments was false, for he did not love God supremely nor his neighbor as himself but let self-love and riches rule his heart. In choosing to keep his earthly treasure he refused eternal life and fixed his destiny on loss of both worlds. His sorrowful going pictures many professed commandment-keepers who seek life yet grieve and turn back when shown that entering Christ's service costs surrender of all.
Encounter And Setting
The verse belongs to the encounter of a young ruler of wealth and position who sincerely wanted eternal life and wanted to become Christ's disciple, coming to learn what he should do to inherit it. As Jesus was walking by the way, the ruler came running to Him, kneeled, and reverently asked what good thing he should do that he might have eternal life, addressing Him merely as an honored rabbi without discerning in Him the Son of God. He recognized Christ as a teacher by whom he was willing to be taught, having observed His compassion for the poor and ignorant and having been touched by His meekness and lowliness of heart.
He thought highly of his own righteousness and claimed to have kept the commandments from his youth, yet he was not fully satisfied, felt that he lacked something, and hoped Jesus could bless him and satisfy his deepest need. He had high motives but was not perfect in understanding, and sincerely believed he had kept God's law while still lacking discernment of his need for heart devotion and Christian goodness. The same story is told in Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, and Luke 18:18-23, summed up by the words One thing thou lackest. In it Jesus taught obedience to the moral law as the way of life and to enter into life by keeping the commandments, because the character of God is expressed in His law and its principles must be the spring of every action in order to be in harmony with God, and loving God with the whole heart leads to life.
Jesus loved the ruler and longed to develop and sanctify his character, seeing that if he had placed himself under Christ's guidance and given himself to Him he could have become Christ's co-worker, reflected God's likeness, and used his abilities as a power for good. He did not compel him but left him free to obey or refuse whether to meet the conditions set before him for eternal life. Judas thought Jesus was wrong to risk losing a wealthy man who could support the cause by presenting him with the condition of discipleship. His case stands in contrast with the disciples, who had left their boats and nets to follow Jesus, and though their possessions were few their sacrifice was accepted because it was all they had and was dear to them.
Demand Jesus Made
The saying he heard was the condition laid upon him for perfection and treasure in heaven, that he must sell what he had and give to the poor and come follow Christ. The call included taking up the cross in self-denial and following in obedient discipleship, not merely parting with goods but entering life on Christ's terms. That demand tested whether he prized eternal life higher than riches and whether attachment to possessions would keep him from accepting Christ and following Him into life. Helping the needy with what had been entrusted to him would have been faithful stewardship of the Lord's goods and a means of leading them to the Saviour.
He understood what the words required, counted the cost, and saw the cross in the duty set before him. Yet the sacrifice seemed too great and too costly, and he judged it too large a risk to exchange visible earthly treasure and its advantages for unseen heavenly treasure. He wanted eternal life and heavenly treasure but prized temporal possessions, prospects, standing among people, and honor too highly to accept the terms, loving God's gifts more than the Giver. Few know how strong their love for riches is until the test comes, and the greater the treasures laid up on earth the harder it is to realize they are lent for God's glory and to become rich in good works. So he would not give up his wealth, turned away sorrowful, and thereafter the world received his worship, representing the large class held by earthly treasure so that few obey God when duty requires surrender.
Why He Left Sorrowful
He went away sorrowful, sad, grieving and displeased because he had great possessions and would not give them up to deny self and follow Jesus. The saying he had heard was the condition that he sell what he owned, give to the poor, take up the cross and come follow Christ in order to be perfect and have treasure in heaven, and he understood its cost yet judged the sacrifice too great a risk to accept. His attachment to wealth stood directly in the way of taking the step required for entering life and receiving eternal life, and his refusal to renounce all proved him unworthy of a place in the Master's service. He claimed to have kept the commandments, but he would not meet their conditions when following Christ involved parting with his possessions.
His great possessions were his idol and supreme love, his heart swallowed up in earthly treasure because his love of the world was not overcome. He loved the goods entrusted to him more than their Giver, more than God and His service and more than the souls of his fellow men, revealing that he had not fulfilled the law's call to love God supremely and his neighbor as himself. His wealth held his heart and exposed attachment to self-indulgence and unwillingness to use what he had as a faithful steward, so he gave up the possibility of following Christ rather than part with it. Having refused Christ's offer he refused eternal life itself, and thereafter the world received his worship.
He wanted eternal life and heavenly treasure, yet he prized temporal advantages, honor, power, standing among people and visible riches too highly, valuing them above Christ's fellowship. His desire for eternal life was chilled and overcome when giving his wealth to the poor and following Christ was made the condition, so he chose to retain his riches rather than become Christ's follower. He was unwilling to exchange what he possessed for the unseen heavenly treasure and immortal life, judging that sacrifice too great a risk, and his attachment kept him from receiving what was offered. In this he shows how earthly possessions can be valued above the heavenly inheritance and prevent the sacrifice required to follow Christ.
His high position and possessions had subtly drawn his affections from God, and if cherished such worldly things would take God's place and weaken moral strength and usefulness. His riches held his heart firmly, so that he preferred worldly wealth to loving God, loving his fellow people and receiving eternal life, revealing what he valued most. How difficult it was for him to withdraw his affections from his earthly treasure and worldly treasure even with eternal life promised as his reward shows how hard self-surrender can seem when wealth and other attachments must be cut away. The more an avaricious person gains the harder it may be to give, until earthly possessions hold the affections that should belong to God and others and Christ's command to give to the poor seems impossible.
Failure Under Law
His claim to have kept the commandments was false, for outwardly faultless obedience did not mean his heart was right with God. When told to sell what he owned, give to the poor and follow, he went away sorrowful rather than surrender his wealth, and that response exposed the hidden attachment and selfishness in his heart. He lacked true love for God and for other people, which is the very spirit of the commandments, and he lacked discernment of his need for heart devotion and Christian goodness. Jesus taught obedience to the moral law as the way of life, and the command showed the young man had not kept its demands as he supposed but needed salvation.
He failed the first four commandments containing duty to God and the last six containing duty to man. His love of riches was supreme and was his idol, making it impossible to love God with all heart and soul and mind, and he did not love his neighbor as himself. His heart was on his treasure and swallowed up in earthly possessions, which he loved better than God and better than the heavenly treasure, shutting his eyes to the wants of his fellow men. His great possessions stood in the way of loving God with the whole heart and following in self-denial, revealing weakness and that he was not a true lover of God, and his riches kept him from loving God supremely, his fellow men, truth and service. Self-love was supreme with him, for he loved his possessions above God and His service and more than the souls of his fellow men.
Weighed by the law of righteousness, which requires love for neighbor as self, he was found wanting, out of harmony with heaven's principles and unfit for its kingdom. Weighed in the balances of the sanctuary he was found wanting and alienated from God, because he regarded what had been given him in trust as of far more value than heavenly treasure. His lack could be hidden only in Christ's perfection, for he needed Christ's righteousness received by faith and divine power to obey God's law and to accept Christ as Saviour and follow Him. Outwardly proper conduct cannot replace obedience from the heart; the law must reach the conscience so a person sees sin's great evil, dies to self, and can know spiritual holiness, reflecting a heart that still needed humility and contrition and supreme love for God.
His wealth had been entrusted to him as a stewardship to relieve others' suffering, help the needy, bless others and help bring them to the Saviour, and using it this way would have laid up treasure in heaven. Helping the needy would have been faithful stewardship and faithful use of the Lord's goods, advancing God's work. He could not selfishly keep his possessions and at the same time follow Christ, for he loved the goods entrusted to him more than their Giver and would not use them as a faithful steward. He wanted both the earthly riches he cherished and the heavenly inheritance, but he would not transfer his treasure to heaven by loosening his attachment to it and using it to help others; he chose the earthly and sacrificed the heavenly.
Loss And Consequence
By refusing what was offered him he refused eternal life itself, rejecting the set conditions for entering life, giving up the possibility of following, choosing earthly treasure over heaven and fixing his destiny. He wanted heaven and the heavenly inheritance yet wanted to keep his great wealth and its temporal advantages of honor and power, judging the unseen reward too great a risk to exchange for what he possessed. His possessions were his idol and held his heart, for he loved them more than God and His service and more than the souls of his fellow men, so that love of money and of earthly riches outweighed his love for others and for eternal life. In this he did not fulfill the law's call to love God supremely and his neighbor as himself, would not obey the call to give to the poor, take up the cross and follow, gave up immortal life rather than obey, and thereafter the world received his worship. To retain earthly treasure as more important than the heavenly reward is to risk the loss of both worlds.
His turning away sorrowful illustrates how people weigh Christ against the world and may turn from the Saviour rather than have Him as leader. Entering His service requires surrendering all that one has and is, for obedience to God's law must shape the life and character. Willing service with one's means in God's work is part of how He saves, and the cutting away of whatever would corrupt the whole being is part of how He develops complete Christian character. Such entire surrender is no more than was given when, leaving riches and glory and honor, He humbled Himself to take human nature in poverty and humiliation so that through Him the poor might be made rich. Wealth and other attachments can make self-surrender seem too great a sacrifice, and the perversity of the human heart makes personal work difficult, yet obedience is required of all who would be His disciples.
Obeying those words was his only hope of salvation and the way to develop a complete Christian character, for his high position and possessions were subtly drawing his affections from God. If cherished, worldly things take God's place and weaken moral strength and usefulness, since the sin that had to be removed was selfishness and its indulgences. God's truth must cut selfishness out of the character, or there is no hope of eternal life. Riches make entrance into God's kingdom hard when people trust them or insist on their own way, but God can make salvation possible when wealth is instead invested in His cause under His blessing.
Though willing to keep the commandments, he was kept by love of possessions from accepting what he lacked. Earthly wealth and its concerns deceive people and choke the word so that it becomes unfruitful. Those who do not seek the truth and the light needed to understand it lose that light and are left in darkness.
Warning For Believers
His going away sorrowful pictures the condition of many Sabbath-keepers and professed believers who come like he did seeking to know what to do to inherit eternal life. Though they think they keep the commandments, when they hear what is required of them they turn away grieving because their holdings are large. The demand to sell what they have and give to the poor in order to have treasure in heaven and come follow Jesus tests whether they prize eternal life higher than riches, yet they do not eagerly lay hold of the prospect and do not strive to remove the obstacle to heavenly treasure. Their possessions stand in the way of loving God with the whole heart and following Christ in self-denial, and unwillingness to give up what blocks devotion reveals weakness and that they are not true lovers of God. So they grieve when shown their duty, as when keeping the Sabbath requires them to lift the cross and deny self. Their love of riches is supreme and is their idol, making it impossible to love God with all heart and soul and mind and shutting their eyes to the wants of fellow men, for they do not love their neighbor as themselves but have the heart swallowed up in earthly possessions loved better than God and better than the heavenly treasure.
He represents a large class held by earthly treasure, and that hold is the reason so few obey God. Few know how strong their love for riches is until the test comes. When the way of life is pointed out and the cost is counted, and they are convinced they must sacrifice earthly riches and become rich in good works, they decide heaven costs too much. His sorrowful going away proves by works that he loved riches more than his neighbor and his God and that he was unprepared for heaven, and the same is proved of all who like him ask the way to life. Here character is proved to show how much God and truth are loved: those tested would rather yield the truth than sell and give to the poor, and they venture to risk eternal life for worldly possession when the heart is on riches and riches are loved better than God, better than fellow men, and better than truth. The greater the treasures laid up on earth, the harder it is for the owner to realize they are not his own but are lent to him to use for God's glory. The love of Jesus and riches cannot dwell in the same heart, so entrance into the kingdom requires truth crowding out the love of riches by the Spirit, breaking away from riches, transferring affection to God, holding all as the Lord's goods, and faithfully discharging duty as God's steward to bless the needy and advance God's work, while laying up treasures in heaven, perfecting Christian character, and faithfully using entrusted sacred truths and talents as true followers of Christ who let light shine instead of hiding it.
The same turning away is seen in those who withhold their means when God's work needs support, when the needs of the poor call, when messengers carrying truth are to be sustained, and when souls are left without present truth. Like him they cling to earthly goods instead of sacrificing for others and laying up treasure in heaven, letting attachment to property keep them from sacrifice. Their refusal leaves people without spiritual truth and shows they value earthly wealth more than sacrifice for God's work and the salvation of others.
Such clinging proves earthly treasure valued above the heavenly inheritance. Their earthly possessions will soon be swept away, leaving it too late to use them to lay up treasure in heaven. Clinging to earthly goods when destruction comes and the overflowing scourge sweeps possessions away can leave them lost, whereas sacrifice made in time lays up treasure in heaven.
The young ruler who sincerely sought eternal life went away grieving when he heard that to be perfect and gain heavenly treasure he must sell all, give to the poor, take up the cross and follow Christ. He refused because his great possessions were his idol and supreme love, which he valued above Christ's fellowship and the unseen reward. His departure exposed that his claim to have kept the commandments was false, for he did not love God supremely nor his neighbor as himself but let self-love and riches rule his heart. In choosing to keep his earthly treasure he refused eternal life and fixed his destiny on loss of both worlds. His sorrowful going pictures many professed commandment-keepers who seek life yet grieve and turn back when shown that entering Christ's service costs surrender of all.
Encounter And Setting
The verse belongs to the encounter of a young ruler of wealth and position who sincerely wanted eternal life and wanted to become Christ's disciple, coming to learn what he should do to inherit it. As Jesus was walking by the way, the ruler came running to Him, kneeled, and reverently asked what good thing he should do that he might have eternal life, addressing Him merely as an honored rabbi without discerning in Him the Son of God. He recognized Christ as a teacher by whom he was willing to be taught, having observed His compassion for the poor and ignorant and having been touched by His meekness and lowliness of heart.
He thought highly of his own righteousness and claimed to have kept the commandments from his youth, yet he was not fully satisfied, felt that he lacked something, and hoped Jesus could bless him and satisfy his deepest need. He had high motives but was not perfect in understanding, and sincerely believed he had kept God's law while still lacking discernment of his need for heart devotion and Christian goodness. The same story is told in Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, and Luke 18:18-23, summed up by the words One thing thou lackest. In it Jesus taught obedience to the moral law as the way of life and to enter into life by keeping the commandments, because the character of God is expressed in His law and its principles must be the spring of every action in order to be in harmony with God, and loving God with the whole heart leads to life.
Jesus loved the ruler and longed to develop and sanctify his character, seeing that if he had placed himself under Christ's guidance and given himself to Him he could have become Christ's co-worker, reflected God's likeness, and used his abilities as a power for good. He did not compel him but left him free to obey or refuse whether to meet the conditions set before him for eternal life. Judas thought Jesus was wrong to risk losing a wealthy man who could support the cause by presenting him with the condition of discipleship. His case stands in contrast with the disciples, who had left their boats and nets to follow Jesus, and though their possessions were few their sacrifice was accepted because it was all they had and was dear to them.
Demand Jesus Made
The saying he heard was the condition laid upon him for perfection and treasure in heaven, that he must sell what he had and give to the poor and come follow Christ. The call included taking up the cross in self-denial and following in obedient discipleship, not merely parting with goods but entering life on Christ's terms. That demand tested whether he prized eternal life higher than riches and whether attachment to possessions would keep him from accepting Christ and following Him into life. Helping the needy with what had been entrusted to him would have been faithful stewardship of the Lord's goods and a means of leading them to the Saviour.
He understood what the words required, counted the cost, and saw the cross in the duty set before him. Yet the sacrifice seemed too great and too costly, and he judged it too large a risk to exchange visible earthly treasure and its advantages for unseen heavenly treasure. He wanted eternal life and heavenly treasure but prized temporal possessions, prospects, standing among people, and honor too highly to accept the terms, loving God's gifts more than the Giver. Few know how strong their love for riches is until the test comes, and the greater the treasures laid up on earth the harder it is to realize they are lent for God's glory and to become rich in good works. So he would not give up his wealth, turned away sorrowful, and thereafter the world received his worship, representing the large class held by earthly treasure so that few obey God when duty requires surrender.
Why He Left Sorrowful
He went away sorrowful, sad, grieving and displeased because he had great possessions and would not give them up to deny self and follow Jesus. The saying he had heard was the condition that he sell what he owned, give to the poor, take up the cross and come follow Christ in order to be perfect and have treasure in heaven, and he understood its cost yet judged the sacrifice too great a risk to accept. His attachment to wealth stood directly in the way of taking the step required for entering life and receiving eternal life, and his refusal to renounce all proved him unworthy of a place in the Master's service. He claimed to have kept the commandments, but he would not meet their conditions when following Christ involved parting with his possessions.
His great possessions were his idol and supreme love, his heart swallowed up in earthly treasure because his love of the world was not overcome. He loved the goods entrusted to him more than their Giver, more than God and His service and more than the souls of his fellow men, revealing that he had not fulfilled the law's call to love God supremely and his neighbor as himself. His wealth held his heart and exposed attachment to self-indulgence and unwillingness to use what he had as a faithful steward, so he gave up the possibility of following Christ rather than part with it. Having refused Christ's offer he refused eternal life itself, and thereafter the world received his worship.
He wanted eternal life and heavenly treasure, yet he prized temporal advantages, honor, power, standing among people and visible riches too highly, valuing them above Christ's fellowship. His desire for eternal life was chilled and overcome when giving his wealth to the poor and following Christ was made the condition, so he chose to retain his riches rather than become Christ's follower. He was unwilling to exchange what he possessed for the unseen heavenly treasure and immortal life, judging that sacrifice too great a risk, and his attachment kept him from receiving what was offered. In this he shows how earthly possessions can be valued above the heavenly inheritance and prevent the sacrifice required to follow Christ.
His high position and possessions had subtly drawn his affections from God, and if cherished such worldly things would take God's place and weaken moral strength and usefulness. His riches held his heart firmly, so that he preferred worldly wealth to loving God, loving his fellow people and receiving eternal life, revealing what he valued most. How difficult it was for him to withdraw his affections from his earthly treasure and worldly treasure even with eternal life promised as his reward shows how hard self-surrender can seem when wealth and other attachments must be cut away. The more an avaricious person gains the harder it may be to give, until earthly possessions hold the affections that should belong to God and others and Christ's command to give to the poor seems impossible.
Failure Under Law
His claim to have kept the commandments was false, for outwardly faultless obedience did not mean his heart was right with God. When told to sell what he owned, give to the poor and follow, he went away sorrowful rather than surrender his wealth, and that response exposed the hidden attachment and selfishness in his heart. He lacked true love for God and for other people, which is the very spirit of the commandments, and he lacked discernment of his need for heart devotion and Christian goodness. Jesus taught obedience to the moral law as the way of life, and the command showed the young man had not kept its demands as he supposed but needed salvation.
He failed the first four commandments containing duty to God and the last six containing duty to man. His love of riches was supreme and was his idol, making it impossible to love God with all heart and soul and mind, and he did not love his neighbor as himself. His heart was on his treasure and swallowed up in earthly possessions, which he loved better than God and better than the heavenly treasure, shutting his eyes to the wants of his fellow men. His great possessions stood in the way of loving God with the whole heart and following in self-denial, revealing weakness and that he was not a true lover of God, and his riches kept him from loving God supremely, his fellow men, truth and service. Self-love was supreme with him, for he loved his possessions above God and His service and more than the souls of his fellow men.
Weighed by the law of righteousness, which requires love for neighbor as self, he was found wanting, out of harmony with heaven's principles and unfit for its kingdom. Weighed in the balances of the sanctuary he was found wanting and alienated from God, because he regarded what had been given him in trust as of far more value than heavenly treasure. His lack could be hidden only in Christ's perfection, for he needed Christ's righteousness received by faith and divine power to obey God's law and to accept Christ as Saviour and follow Him. Outwardly proper conduct cannot replace obedience from the heart; the law must reach the conscience so a person sees sin's great evil, dies to self, and can know spiritual holiness, reflecting a heart that still needed humility and contrition and supreme love for God.
His wealth had been entrusted to him as a stewardship to relieve others' suffering, help the needy, bless others and help bring them to the Saviour, and using it this way would have laid up treasure in heaven. Helping the needy would have been faithful stewardship and faithful use of the Lord's goods, advancing God's work. He could not selfishly keep his possessions and at the same time follow Christ, for he loved the goods entrusted to him more than their Giver and would not use them as a faithful steward. He wanted both the earthly riches he cherished and the heavenly inheritance, but he would not transfer his treasure to heaven by loosening his attachment to it and using it to help others; he chose the earthly and sacrificed the heavenly.
Loss And Consequence
By refusing what was offered him he refused eternal life itself, rejecting the set conditions for entering life, giving up the possibility of following, choosing earthly treasure over heaven and fixing his destiny. He wanted heaven and the heavenly inheritance yet wanted to keep his great wealth and its temporal advantages of honor and power, judging the unseen reward too great a risk to exchange for what he possessed. His possessions were his idol and held his heart, for he loved them more than God and His service and more than the souls of his fellow men, so that love of money and of earthly riches outweighed his love for others and for eternal life. In this he did not fulfill the law's call to love God supremely and his neighbor as himself, would not obey the call to give to the poor, take up the cross and follow, gave up immortal life rather than obey, and thereafter the world received his worship. To retain earthly treasure as more important than the heavenly reward is to risk the loss of both worlds.
His turning away sorrowful illustrates how people weigh Christ against the world and may turn from the Saviour rather than have Him as leader. Entering His service requires surrendering all that one has and is, for obedience to God's law must shape the life and character. Willing service with one's means in God's work is part of how He saves, and the cutting away of whatever would corrupt the whole being is part of how He develops complete Christian character. Such entire surrender is no more than was given when, leaving riches and glory and honor, He humbled Himself to take human nature in poverty and humiliation so that through Him the poor might be made rich. Wealth and other attachments can make self-surrender seem too great a sacrifice, and the perversity of the human heart makes personal work difficult, yet obedience is required of all who would be His disciples.
Obeying those words was his only hope of salvation and the way to develop a complete Christian character, for his high position and possessions were subtly drawing his affections from God. If cherished, worldly things take God's place and weaken moral strength and usefulness, since the sin that had to be removed was selfishness and its indulgences. God's truth must cut selfishness out of the character, or there is no hope of eternal life. Riches make entrance into God's kingdom hard when people trust them or insist on their own way, but God can make salvation possible when wealth is instead invested in His cause under His blessing.
Though willing to keep the commandments, he was kept by love of possessions from accepting what he lacked. Earthly wealth and its concerns deceive people and choke the word so that it becomes unfruitful. Those who do not seek the truth and the light needed to understand it lose that light and are left in darkness.
Warning For Believers
His going away sorrowful pictures the condition of many Sabbath-keepers and professed believers who come like he did seeking to know what to do to inherit eternal life. Though they think they keep the commandments, when they hear what is required of them they turn away grieving because their holdings are large. The demand to sell what they have and give to the poor in order to have treasure in heaven and come follow Jesus tests whether they prize eternal life higher than riches, yet they do not eagerly lay hold of the prospect and do not strive to remove the obstacle to heavenly treasure. Their possessions stand in the way of loving God with the whole heart and following Christ in self-denial, and unwillingness to give up what blocks devotion reveals weakness and that they are not true lovers of God. So they grieve when shown their duty, as when keeping the Sabbath requires them to lift the cross and deny self. Their love of riches is supreme and is their idol, making it impossible to love God with all heart and soul and mind and shutting their eyes to the wants of fellow men, for they do not love their neighbor as themselves but have the heart swallowed up in earthly possessions loved better than God and better than the heavenly treasure.
He represents a large class held by earthly treasure, and that hold is the reason so few obey God. Few know how strong their love for riches is until the test comes. When the way of life is pointed out and the cost is counted, and they are convinced they must sacrifice earthly riches and become rich in good works, they decide heaven costs too much. His sorrowful going away proves by works that he loved riches more than his neighbor and his God and that he was unprepared for heaven, and the same is proved of all who like him ask the way to life. Here character is proved to show how much God and truth are loved: those tested would rather yield the truth than sell and give to the poor, and they venture to risk eternal life for worldly possession when the heart is on riches and riches are loved better than God, better than fellow men, and better than truth. The greater the treasures laid up on earth, the harder it is for the owner to realize they are not his own but are lent to him to use for God's glory. The love of Jesus and riches cannot dwell in the same heart, so entrance into the kingdom requires truth crowding out the love of riches by the Spirit, breaking away from riches, transferring affection to God, holding all as the Lord's goods, and faithfully discharging duty as God's steward to bless the needy and advance God's work, while laying up treasures in heaven, perfecting Christian character, and faithfully using entrusted sacred truths and talents as true followers of Christ who let light shine instead of hiding it.
The same turning away is seen in those who withhold their means when God's work needs support, when the needs of the poor call, when messengers carrying truth are to be sustained, and when souls are left without present truth. Like him they cling to earthly goods instead of sacrificing for others and laying up treasure in heaven, letting attachment to property keep them from sacrifice. Their refusal leaves people without spiritual truth and shows they value earthly wealth more than sacrifice for God's work and the salvation of others.
Such clinging proves earthly treasure valued above the heavenly inheritance. Their earthly possessions will soon be swept away, leaving it too late to use them to lay up treasure in heaven. Clinging to earthly goods when destruction comes and the overflowing scourge sweeps possessions away can leave them lost, whereas sacrifice made in time lays up treasure in heaven.