He was so rich and yet so poor

By J. T. Seamands.

“At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth”…Mark 10:22

Verse 22 tells us that the young man “had great possessions.” We can probably infer from the way he phrased his question to Jesus—“What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”—that he had received his estate through inheritance. He probably had houses and land, perhaps a thriving business, and many servants in his household. He likely had fine clothing, good food, and many of the comforts of life. So from the material standpoint he was well off.

However, from the spiritual perspective, the young man was poor. He lacked life’s most important possession—eternal life. It is possible for a person to be rich in material goods but at the same time be spiritually bankrupt. The opposite is also true—a person may be poor materially, but rich spiritually.

When I was a missionary in India, I was once conducting revival meetings in a certain city in northwest India. Once day, I was invited as a guest to the place of the Maharajah of the State, one of the richest men in the country. He had several Rolls Royce cars in the garage, was dressed in silk clothes, with priceless diamonds, rubies, and emeralds adorning his turban. We ate and drank out of silver vessels. I was amazed at the display of wealth. But at the same time I realized from a trip to Europe and brought back with him a beautiful young night club dancer as his concubine. He had no interest in spiritual matters whatsoever.

The very next day I was invited for tea to a humble Christian home. When I entered the house, the host said to me, “Sir, we have a very humble home; we don’t have much in the things of this world, but we offer you the best hospitality that we have. We are so glad to have you in our home.” Then he introduced me to his wife, son, and two daughters. I discovered they were all committed Christians, serving the Lord in different ways. After some light refreshments, the host asked me to read a passage of Scripture and then lead in prayer.

When I finished, I said to the father, “My friend, when I entered your home, you said this is a humble home and that you don’t have much in material things. But I want to tell you that you are spiritually rich. There is so much love, faith, and commitment in this home. You are most fortunate to have such a fine Christian home.”

The young man who came to Jesus was rich in body but poor in soul.