I’d like to share with you a story I recently heard from a Protestant minister. It is about an expert in diamonds who happened to be seated on an airplane beside a woman with a huge diamond on her finger. Finally, the man introduced himself and said, "I couldn't help but notice your beautiful diamond. I am an expert in precious stones. Please tell me about that stone." She replied, "That is the famous Klopman diamond, one of the largest in the world. But there is a strange curse that comes with it." Now the man was really interested. He asked, "What is the curse?" As he waited with bated breath, she replied, "It's Mr. Klopman."
The true curse of any kind of valuable possession is its capacity to steal our hearts and souls. The rich young ruler is one of those unique characters from the Bible that have come to represent greed. So unwilling was he to part with earthly wealth that he sold his soul in order to keep his money. He wanted to be saved but not at the expense of losing his possessions.
G.K. Chesterton once said that “children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.” Scripture teaches us that the former path is required in order to inherit eternal life. Each person among us ought to look in the mirror and determine to which category he belongs. Anything less than total dedication to Jesus may indeed become a curse.
Yours in Christ,
Father Mike