Most people believe that if they can do enough good things then God will accept them. But they are wrong. This episode reveals the internal doubt of this young man. He was religious and devout but instinctively felt that he had not done enough to earn God's favour. He knew that he did not have a living relationship with God and that he did not deserve eternal life.
 
The man recognised Christ's authority and his own moral deficiency; he wanted to learn how to be 'in the right' with God. 'Keeping the rules' was his speciality but he understood he was not perfect. Even when Jesus reminded him of the Ten Commandments, and he claimed to have kept them all, his conscience asked, "What do I still lack?"
 
However, all this time he had not really been worshipping God. His 'god' had been money. It was money which gave him security, and yet as he grew more and more wealthy, the less secure he felt. Jesus taught him that only by removing that 'god/idol' could he start worshipping Christ and following Him. The result would be real treasure in heaven with real security both now and hereafter. But it was a step too far for the young man. He would not give up his idol and so could not have a relationship with the only true God.
 
It may seem strange that we gain when we have given everything away. But if we are clinging to an idol, then we cannot know God. He does not share His Lordship with anybody or anything else (Isaiah 42:8). The Christian life must have Christ exclusively in command. It is time to get rid of idols, whoever and whatever they may be.