Our rich young man from chapter 19, it seems, is serving his wealth. We’re told “he had many possessions” and his emotional response to parting with them reveals a heart that finds it’s worth in material things.

It might be easy to distance ourselves from a character like this, but a reality check reminds us that we are among the most affluent people in the world. We live in a society shaped around consumer culture and I know that everyone reading this will have “many possessions”.

Are we, then, to go and sell all we have and give that money to the poor?