I was reading this morning through Matthew 19:16-30 and hit this well-known conversation between the Rich Man and Jesus.

“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he inquired.  
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”  
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”  
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.  

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”  
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  
Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”  

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

So a rich man comes to Jesus asking how he can get eternal life.
Jesus tells him to follow the commandments, to which he responds that he has, but he wants to know what else he lacks? Jesus tell him to 1: sell his possessions, then 2) come and follow him.

Then we are told he went away because he was rich. Jesus even explicitly mentions that it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

So then it’s pretty common for people to come to the conclusion that riches are the problem. Even the section heading to this passage is titled “The Rich and the Kingdom of God”. But I don’t think that’s quite right. The question was: how do I get eternal life? The answer isn’t “poverty”, it’s actually “follow Jesus”.

Jesus noted that riches were what was getting in this man’s way from following him, so he tells him to lose the riches, which obviously he wasn’t willing to do.

The takeaway from this passage isn’t that riches are what keep one from the kingdom of God. They certainly can be, and Jesus’ commentary is that it is difficult for the rich, presumably because their riches are so attractive for them, that they aren’t usually willing to let them go.

But Peter’s answer is “We have left everything to follow you, what will there be for us?  

Jesus responds: ”You who have followed me…. and he lists the rewards. He finishes by promising that those who are willing to give up what they have here in order to follow him will inherit eternal life.  
The important thing then is to follow Jesus. The issue is understanding what it is that keeps us from following the Lord, and being willing to let that go. Poverty itself won’t get anyone to eternal life, only following Jesus.