We should be sympathetic towards the rich young man. He had led a good life but wanted to do something extra in order to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus asked him to do something terribly hard, to give away his riches to the poor. And this he could not do. It is not easy to follow Jesus. It will cost us pain and sacrifice. The young man in the story had to give away everything he had. Not all of us have riches to give away but we often strive to obtain many unnecessary material possessions. They make our lives easier but they are not necessary for our survival. We are asked to be detached from what we hold dear. Instead of putting our own goals at centre stage we should turn to God and try to live a more authentic experience. When all else passes away it will be how we have lived our lives that will be most important. Of ourselves we can do nothing but God's help is always at hand and this makes us strong. We will fail but the Lord is merciful. He pardons us, and He saves us from distress. God will always welcome us back when we fail Him by putting ourselves before what He wants us to do. This is a cause for joy and should allow us to face the future with hope.