Read Matthew 19

Now, behold, one came and said to him, 

“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

So He said to Him,

 “Why do you call me good. No one is good but One, that is, God.  

But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

He said to Him, 

“Which ones?” 

Jesus said, 

“You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’

 ‘You shall not bear false witness. ‘Honour your father and your mother, 

and ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’”

The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. 

What do I still lack?”

Jesus said to him, 

“If you want to be perfect go, sell what you have and give to the poor, 

and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, 

for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, 

“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man 

to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:16-23

The point of the passage is where the heart is.
This man came to Jesus asking Him, “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  Jesus told him to obey the commandments and the man said he had since his youth.
So Jesus told him to give everything he owned and follow Him.
Scripture tells us the man, “...went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Jesus knew this man’s heart.  He knew that intellectually, he believed there was a God all his life, he’d been told there was.  I don’t think the man doubted that.
He, from the conversation, appears to have obeyed the laws of Moses.  And God seems to have blessed him materially.
Quite often, what we own keeps us away from God.
Having  wealth is often a sign of complete self reliance.  A good thing in many ways.
Still, it’s easy to follow the commandments of God if you’re financially well off.  But to give up everything and become totally reliant on God for even your most basic needs that takes faith.
Hebrews 11:6 states

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him,

 for he who comes to God most believe that He is,

 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” 

Something to think about

Jesus knew where this man’s faith was at and He knows where we are at.

Are you willing to “sell what you have and give to the poor, also?

Are you willing to rely on God for even your most basic of needs?

God may never ask you to do this.

Still be honest with yourself.

Are you willing to give up all you have to follow God by faith?