Matthew 19:16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
He was a good kid. Or so he thought. He had been raised to do all the right things to be observed by his parents and others, and to not do the bad things when anyone could see. He was confident in his own goodness. He breathed a sigh of relief when Jesus left out the 10th commandment - to not covet, because as much stuff as he had, it was never enough. It's what had a hold of him that keep him from admitting he needed anyone or anything, including a Savior. He had been raised that doing the right thing is important, but having the right stuff is more so. He was raised with the concept that though we are "not perfect, we are better than they are." He could not, or would not let that go. What are we doing spiritually to our kids when we give them everything they want? Are we setting them up to make it almost impossible to accept what they need?
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