He has everything: he is young, he is handsome, he is rich and furthermore, his religious practice is exemplary!

Despite the fact that he is rolling in money, the question of eternal life preoccupies him, and he sincerely believes that the best path to reach it is to observe the commandments.

The story does not say how he interprets the commandments, but it seems that the priests of the time found him to be a perfect gentleman.

One day, this young rich man comes across Jesus on the road and asks him what is his thinking about that. Immediately Jesus feels that he has in front of him a most unusual young fellow. He even has already some affection for him. Still, he considers that it would not be a sign of love if he let him believe that he had already reached perfection.

Most probably with a sigh and a lot of gentleness, he will then tell him that he is completely mistaken. There is no spirituality of that kind, unless it opens one's eyes on the reality of the poor, opens one's ears to their cry, opens one's heart and hands to their distress. There is no fullness of life, there is no life in plenitude by neglecting the situation of the poor. There is no eternal life by bypassing or by rising above the poor.

The perfect path for you, the sure way, the only authentic spirituality is this one: « Go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me », will tell him Jesus (Matt. 19:21).

Jesus knew well that this good young man was far from suspecting that his fortune was trickling down with blood.

That huge fortune, he certainly had not won it through his personal efforts since he was still a young fellow. And so it must have come from his family. How had his family gathered it? He absolutely had no idea about that. Maybe his parents (or grandparents) were brave people who believed also that they had faithfully observed the commandments.

Yet, it is a rare case that someone can at the same time amass great riches and observes the commandments, as if one could enrich himself without ever profiting from poverty, from misery or from the bad luck of others...

Is it possible to become rich while loving one's neighbor as oneself? Can we really accumulate big surpluses when we buy and sell at the exact price and when we treat one's employees with justice and that we pay them a just salary? ... What are those big fortunes that are not built on the others' back? ...

There is blood on the hands of the big rich people. Very often, far from loving their neighbor as themselves, they have downright stolen from him, cheated him, abused him and exploited him. That's why, « go, sell all that you have, give it to the poor...», because what you possess does not belong to you. That was snatched away from the poor. It is to them that it belongs.

You are merely content with being good. It is true, you are a good person, but you are not concerned with justice. Like many « good people », you separate goodness and justice.

You are rich and you do not feel responsible for the hunger of the poor, for the sickness, the shame, the distress and the death of the poor. You are rich and you do not see the connection between your wealth and the misery of your people.

As for me, I am telling you that if you want eternal life, be more than good. Be « perfect » by returning to the poor what belongs to them. In other words, be just and you will be perfect. And so, your life will go on eternally in God's life.

Many say to themselves: « If God loves us, he cannot stop us from getting rich ». That is true. God wants us to become rich, but not only us, but everyone. God wants JUSTICE.

We have always said that more wealth has to be created so that there will be more to be shared. .

It is really the gospel that the rich preach since always. How come then that there are still so many poor on the planet? ...

Eloy Roy

Translated from the French by Jacques Bourdages