Christ's Way of Life (Part 2) | Gospel of Mark

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When God created Man he said it was good. Was it his act of creating which was good or was Man his creation good, or both? Man seems to have lost his intrinsic goodness. Keeping the Commandments doesn't seem to make Man intrinsically good again. The rich man kept the Commandments, yet his selfishness kept him from becoming perfect. He didn't want to give up his selfishness. Giving up selfishness won't necessarily make one perfect. Jesus told him not only to give his riches to the poor, but to also follow him. Then in following him, he would be lacking nothing. The treasures in heaven are of more value than the treasures of earth. We may theoretically believe this, but do we practically live it? The rich man didn't want to let go of the bird in hand for the two in the mustard seed bush. It takes faith to give up a sure lesser thing for a yet unseen greater good. Jesus told him he was lacking something. It was probably faith. Do the rich place faith in earthly riches instead of in God who is intrinsically good? Man is selfish. His appetites and desires make him so. Some appetites are in response to true needs like for air, water, food, clothing and shelter from the elements, and one another (everyone's life came into being by a mother and was sustained by a caregiver). Those things are needed for life. Most things Man desires aren't needed for life, but they enhance life or add comfort or pleasantness or pleasure to life. Martha concerned herself with many things when only a few things were needed. Jesus said he came to give life, not just subsistent living, but abundant life. What are the needed things for eternal life, if obtained, God will add more abundantly? Do earthly riches prevent or make it difficult to obtain them? Or is there really only One needed? Does selfishness prevent or make it difficult to obtain him? Jesus had human appetites. Is this why he said only God was good? Appetites lead to desires which lead to the will. Jesus subjected his human appetites to his divine or Father's will. I suppose one should make a distinction between being selfish in the sense of being self-interested vs being selfish in the sense of being unjust or unfair or uncharitable or uncompassionate or ungracious, ie, sin. Well ordered self-interest without inordinate, inappropriate or exaggerated desires wouldn't be considered sinful. Such a self-interest wouldn't violate the Commandments. Such self- interest still seems to lack self-sacrifice. It's not in self-interest to self-sacrifice unless you expect to be paid back for it, in which case it wouldn't be self-sacrifice. Jesus taught self-sacrifice or self-denial is needed. It must do something good for the soul. Maybe when it is done willingly, it restores the goodness lacking in Man which God declared after creating Man before Man's fall. So it's puzzling that Jesus deflected the rich man's praise calling him good, since Jesus subjected his human appetites to his Father's will even unto death, death on a cross as his sacrifice. He deflected or deferred back the praise of goodness to his Father from whom goodness comes. The Son comes from the Father. The Son is his first Goodness through whom all other goodness flows, as all was created through him. All will return to the Son to be subjected to him who will in turn subject it to his Father. The Son defers even well deserved praise back to his Father.

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Yes, I think Christ's response shows his incredible humility, which seems to be a theme in this section of Mark's Gospel. He is modelling the key virtue on the way of life. I also think you are right to note that self interest in terms of wishing to preserve our life is not inherently bad, because the life God has granted us is a gift. When St Maximus the Confessor is interpreting Christ's struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane he talks about Christ subjecting his good desire to remain alive to the greater desire to follow God through death.