Seeking Validation
Mark 10:17-31
What do we seek most in life?
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age-- houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions-- and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." - Mark 10:17-31
From childhood on, we crave attention.
We want our parents to notice us, to smile and praise us when we do something special, like walk on our own or use the potty.
In school, we strive for good grades and for our teacher's approval of our work.
We want the most popular kids to like us and include us in their inner circles.
We seek the smile of a prospective date, and that elusive "yes" when we ask.
So, it is normal for us to seek validation of our faith with the one we look up to and admire as truly holy.
Now, I am not trying to justify what this man did, but I am trying to explain where this desire to gain acceptance and support comes from. It is how we were raised.
Jesus mentions this need in his parable about the talents, when the master returns home and praises the work of two of the slaves.
We see evidence of this need for validation everywhere. Names of the wealthy benefactors go on hospital and university buildings. People stand up at charity dinners and raise their hands to pledge large sums of money.
They could donate in private, but they wouldn't get the accolades of the other guests that way.I have been there, silently making my donation online before the host starts counting down the amounts, looking for hands to raise so everyone can see who made the big donations.
I'll admit, everyone thinks I didn't donate, and that matters.
We want and need recognition, and that may be part of the problem with our faith. We don't get it. Our commitment to Jesus is private, personal, and hidden.
We don't raise our hands over our heads and shout, "Hey, everyone, I'm a Christian, loved by Jesus, and you could be one too."
Instead, we do what Jesus said and give alms in secret, pray in our room, and have a personal relationship with God.
Of course, we want people to notice how faithful and true we are in our dealings, our actions, and our interactions with others, but we don't draw attention to those things, do we?
We remember this reading and decide to keep our faith silent.
Are we afraid Jesus will demand more of us than we are doing? Perhaps. We don't want to know that we could do more. We want to know we are good the way we are.
So, we don't approach Him and ask like this man did. We simply look at him and shake our heads in judgment.
More to come...