Luke 18:24

‘And Jesus seeing him said, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter into the Kingly Rule of God!”

So Jesus pointed out to him how hard it was for someone who had riches to come under the Kingly Rule of God. For to be under the Kingly Rule of God means that God holds the reins, that God determines each moment what we should do, and that we acknowledge that all that we have belongs to Him. To come under His control thus means a man putting his riches under God's control, for Him to use as He wills. And to maintain such a position in a world where the rich man was king would be very difficult. Furthermore in the case of this man Jesus did not think that he could cope with it. He feared that unless his riches were gone completely it would not be long before Mammon again got the upper hand. His only real hope was therefore to rid himself of the weight that so easily beset him while he was thinking about it. Then he would be truly free. There are moments in every man and woman's life where they cannot afford to make the wrong choice. This man would theoretically be continually free to make the choice that was put before him. But both Jesus and he knew that the crunch moment was now. If he walked away now he might never be brought to this position again. His very riches might prevent it. How many of us there are that look back and think, ‘if only I had made the right choice then'. But if we do we need not fear for this was not necessarily the ruler's last chance. If he repented God could ‘make him again' (Jeremiah 18:4).

Some men can cope with wealth, for it means little to them and they use it for the good of others without it affecting their spiritual lives. To them God is all and their wealth merely a convenience made available to God and usable for Him. But for most it is a continual temptation to sink back into apathy and sin. And Jesus could tell enough about the man to realise that the only way that this rich ruler could succeed in breaking the spell of his riches was by getting rid of them all. (It may be noted that a little child would have had no difficulty in dealing with the question, which was why its coming under the Kingly Rule of God would be so much easier. To a child riches would not have seemed important. But for a man who had begun to know and feel something of his way in the world it was a different matter. He knew the value of riches. He knew that they brought him esteem. After all what was it that had made him a ruler? And now he knew too the stranglehold that they could have on the human heart).