I believe you will find your answer by reading the same account in Mark 10:17-25. In Mark, the added remark of "Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God" (v 24).
So wealth is not the problem, unless of course one is distracted by it or uses what God has given, unwisely. But the point of Jesus' remark was that He detected that this young man's heart was not right. He might have "kept all the commandments" as he said, but in fact Jesus noticed that he broke the very first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me". This man went away sad, as it wasn't just his wealth that held him back, but his love, trust & dependence that he placed on it, that relegated God into second place. And indeed, it doesn't have to be money that can cause us to put our God & Saviour into second spot. 1 John 5:21.
So wealth is not the problem, unless of course one is distracted by it or uses what God has given, unwisely. But the point of Jesus' remark was that He detected that this young man's heart was not right. He might have "kept all the commandments" as he said, but in fact Jesus noticed that he broke the very first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me". This man went away sad, as it wasn't just his wealth that held him back, but his love, trust & dependence that he placed on it, that relegated God into second place. And indeed, it doesn't have to be money that can cause us to put our God & Saviour into second spot. 1 John 5:21.
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