Misplaced Priorities - Mark 10:17-27

(Rich Young Ruler)

by David Woods

Note: I have decided to follow the "Variations in Approach" outline for this lesson, p. 50, and simply flesh out its questions and comments.

Some time ago I was in a discount book store where I purchased a book that is one of the best I have ever read - Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald.

This is not a fluffy reading of a few practical tips of how to better organize your life. While it is full of practical help, this book addresses the important topic of getting one’s soul in good order - ordering the private world - so that one may then excel in the public world of one’s life.

I became a fan of Gordon MacDonald after reading that book. Later I purchased another book he has written titled A Resilient Life.

In this book he twice uses a phrase that has stuck with me ever since and continues to be a challenge to me. He was talking about organizing one’s life around Jesus Christ.

I must admit that organization is one of my greatest challenges. It seems like things become disorganized quickly even after a concerted effort to organize them.

Even more difficult is living a life that is organized around Jesus Christ. The distractions and detours are many. It is easy for priorities of life to be misplaced in the hustle and bustle of living.

Today, we are studying a young ruler whose priorities were misplaced.

Discussion: Tell me about this ruler we are studying today. What kind of person was he?
(“There came one running” - may suggest earnest desire to learn from Christ.
“Good Master” - The Jews believed only God was good. This is quite possibly why Jesus asked him why he called Him “good.” The ruler’s address may have indicated that he believed Jesus to be the Messiah.
“All these have I observed” - obviously a righteous individual - probably seemed nearly perfect to his peers.
“For he had great possessions” - very rich.
“He was sad at that saying” - his riches were more important to him than eternal life.)

Discussion: Why would a person who is so committed to living for God fail to completely submit to God’s will?

Discussion: What are your three highest priorities in life? List them on a piece of paper.

Discussion: How did you use your time this week? Estimate the time you spent on various activities and write them on the sheet of paper.

Discussion: What percentage of your time are you spending on your priorities?

Obviously, there are certain chunks of our time that we cannot spend working to achieve our priorities. For example, unless you want to excel at sleeping, your 6-8 hours of sleep a day will not go toward achieving your priorities.

However, in a secondary sense sleeping may help you prepare to achieve your priorities in the hours you are awake by getting a good night’s rest so you will be rested for the day. But if we were to spend only fifteen minutes a day actually striving to accomplish our priorities in life, but counted eight hours and fifteen minutes, I think we would be deceiving ourselves… slightly….

It may also be true that your priorities in life are not achieved, at least directly, by your job occupation. So that leads us to a question:

Discussion: Can we separate pursuing the priorities of life that God has given us from the mundane and ordinary things of life?

Discussion: How can we better organize our time to match our priorities?

Discussion: What is the message Jesus is trying to teach us about money in verses twenty-one through twenty-five?

Discussion: Does Jesus require all people to sell everything and give it to the poor in order to become His follower? What is the principle that Jesus teaches that we must obey to be His follower?

Discussion: Can you be a follower of Christ while being a wealthy person?

Discussion: How do you think Jesus would react to the time and energy we put toward making a living and “getting ahead” in life?

Discussion: How can our lifestyle affect our welcome into Heaven?

Discussion: What difficult situations can we get in because we are more concerned about making and/or spending money than accomplishing the priorities God has in mind for us?
(Accumulating debt that crushes our spirit, keeps us from giving as much as we might desire to God’s cause, tempts us to withhold our tithe. We may have to work extra hours to support our lifestyle. That in turn may mean less time with family and/or strained relationships with family. Furthermore, our misplaced priorites may teach our children or others we influence to adopt similar misplaced priorities.)

Discussion: Compare and contrast the rich young ruler and the Twelve (see also Mark 1:16-20). Consider their lifestyles, their financial conditions, Jesus’ requests to them, and their responses to Jesus.

Discussion: If Jesus were to ask you today to sell everything you have and follow Him (maybe to pursue some ministry here in America or to go a mission field beyond our borders), how would you respond to His call? Could you follow Him? Are you - or would you be able to get - free from any financial entanglements that would impede your obedience to God’s will?

Some debt is necessary. For instance, most people don’t have the cash to buy a house or even a car. At the same time, the question we have been talking about helps us see debt - even necessary debt - from a different angle.

Discussion: What principles or guidelines might we establish to help us avoid from getting into financial entanglements that will impede us from full obedience to God’s will?

Discussion: How would you respond to this statement: “The rich young ruler was not much different from most holiness church members in regard to his priorities in life.”

Discussion: Do you agree or disagree with this statement: “The credit card, or access to easy credit, is the greatest hindrance to spiritual vitality today”?

Discussion: What should the Christian do about financial entanglements he or she might have in his or her life?

Reflection: Review the priority list you created earlier. Are your priorities in life correct or does this list just reflect what you think a good Christian’s priority list should be like? What should you determine to do this week to better organize your life around Jesus Christ?