Matthew 19:23-26 NLT
[23] “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. [24] I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” [25] The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. [26] Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
The Jews believed that wealth and prosperity were signs of God’s blessing. Job had to rethink the idea because, even when he protested that he was innocent of wrongdoing, he suffered terrible loss.
Jesus turned this idea on its head. He saw wealth as a hindrance to faith in Him. People trusted in their money instead of trusting in Him. The rich young ruler walked away from Him because he refused to disconnect from his love of money that stood between him and following Jesus.
Money is the primary consideration in everything we do. It’s money that drives the world. Doctors and lawyers conduct their professions around money. Private hospitals run businesses at the expense of the sick and suffering.
We even evaluate our social standing by how much money we have or don’t have. Where we live, what we wear or eat, what vehicle we drive, where our children go to school, who our friends are all determined by our bank balances.
The services we use to run our lives are driven and decided by money. If we are poor, we must use the services supplied by the government. If we have money, we can afford medical aid and other private services. We have no access to legal services without money.
In the end, money determines much of the quality of our lives. No wonder then, that we hang onto and depend on what we have, and won’t let it go… the poor because they have so little, and the wealthy because they have so much.
Money is a reluctant servant and a cruel and demanding master. Slaves of money are fearful and insecure.
However, the problem is not money itself but the love of money that holds us in its grip.
1 Timothy 6:10 NLT
[10] “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
Why did Jesus have more to say about money, wealth, and possessions than many other relevant issues in life? He was well aware of the power that money has over people, even God’s people. Put very simply, He said that we will serve the one we love the most, God or mammon (the spiritual power of money).
Matthew 6:19-21, 24 NLT
[19] “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. [21] Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be….
[24] “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
However, as impossible as it is for a wealthy person to renounce his faith in his money and choose to come under Jesus’ authority, everything changes when God is in the mix.
The seemingly impossible becomes exceedingly possible when the power of God’s love replaces the grip of money in our hearts.
Righteousness and generosity came to mean almost the same thing in God’s economy. Using money to serve people is a way of serving God.
Psalms 37:21, 25-26 NIV
[21] “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;…
[25] I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. [26] They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.”
Generosity begets generosity. God pledges to meet the needs of those who meet other’s needs.
Matthew 6:33 NLT
[33]”Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
2 Corinthians 9:7-8, 13 NLT
[7] “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” [8] And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”
Generosity, then, is a work of God’s grace, changing stingy, selfish people into generous givers, confirming God’s salvation in them and achieving His goal…showing who He really is.
[13]”As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.”
In contrast to the world’s economic system of buy and selling, hoarding and gaining interest and dividends in return, God’s system of giving and receiving, sowing and reaping, creates a current that supplies needs and keeps resources circulating. This is a faith/grace partnership which perfectly fits into the ways of God’s kingdom.
Jesus’ answer to His disciples’ question, “Who, then, can be saved?”, if not the wealthy, was simply, “Don’t worry, my Father can do it!”