Week 5: Day 3
Has anyone else heard or been given the 'Chufty' badge?!
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Intro: Hello and welcome to Orbit, a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life from the team behind Satellites - I'm Pete Baker. Each weekday we share a little bit of the Bible with you, give you a chance to pray and think about it, and provide you with one practical way to put it into practice today.
Bible: Today's reading comes from Mark chapter 10, starting at verse 17:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Thoughts: Jesus lived in a religious culture that was set up around reward and punishment. People understand that if we do good things then God or the gods will reward us and if we do bad things that God or the gods will punish us. It seems that this young man, who we are led to believe was also wealthy, had been doing good things all of his life and wanted some kind of reward from Jesus.
When I was a teenager a common response to someone telling you how good they are was for someone else to say ‘do you want a chufty badge?’ To be chuffed means to be well pleased with your own achievements. Could we say that this rich young ruler was secretly after a ‘chufty badge?’
Could we also say that Jesus in this story doesn’t seem to be too impressed with all the young man’s achievements and wanted to speak into what his world was really orbiting around.
Elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus says that where your treasure is, there you heart is. Jesus definitely isn’t saying that money is bad or being wealthy is wrong, he’s saying watch out for what controls you, what’s the thing that Jesus might be pointing at in your life that might have an unhealthy grip, what does your life revolve around that might be hurting you rather than helping you?
Pray: King Jesus we choose to let go of the things that control us and we choose to orbit our lives around you, in Jesus name, amen.
Silence: There's now just a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.
Action: Every day on Orbit we give you a simple practical challenge to help you put this passage into action in your life. Here's today's:
Imagine yourself as this rich young ruler, what would be the think that Jesus would point out in your life that he’s asking you to lay down to follow him? What is controlling your life that might also be harming your life? Today talk to someone you trust who could help you make a good decision in this area of your life.
Outro: That's it for today's Orbit. Thanks so much for joining us - we'll be back with another reflection tomorrow.