Mark 10:17 -31
[Matthew 19:16 -30; Luke 10:25 -37, 18:18 -30]
God created humans inherently good,
but we blind ourselves to goodness by justifying evil. We mask sin with religious piety. Jesus illustrated this problem by emphasizing
the word “good.”
Very likely, one of the common
sayings of the day was “Only God is good.”
However, Greek philosophy had intertwined with that statement to
superimpose “perfection” ideologies. How
could the living God, perfect in all things, interact with dirty dusty humans? Impossible, but there He stood. In Mark 10:18, Jesus asks why the man called
Him “good.” If He was good, but only God
was good, then Jesus was God. No one
heard the “absurdity” of that correlation.
Instead of merciful, the people saw God
as an angry taskmaster. Only perfect
people could please such a deity. Those
deemed “less perfect” could not compete.
Such a God did not take care of the poor, the crippled, or the ill, so
it was all right for the “blessed” to abuse them too. Following a list of rules became more
important then walking in God’s love.
In Matthew 19:21, Jesus implied the
man could become “perfect.” All he
needed to do was change his identity.
However, it would be much simpler if the man simply followed God’s
commandments. The two produced exactly
the same thing: humility.
**Does my religion trivialize
goodness while it places perfection on a pedestal? Do I follow a list of commandments to attain
perfection or to appear clean? Is my God
so “perfect” He could not care about the small details? Am I willing to change?
To be continued…
[Lessons from Holiness Parables, by Jo Helen Cox, a work in progress.]
The Rich Man’s Question – Part 1 of 7
The Rich Man’s Question – Part 4 of 7 – Broken
Commandments
The Rich Man’s Question – Part 5 of 7 – A Task of
Poverty?
The Rich Man’s Question – Part 6 of 7 – The Task to
Follow
The Rich Man’s Question – Part 7 of 7 – Eternal Life
Also in this series: