Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. I say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye Matt 19:23-24

    I was driving down the road the other day and this thought came to me.  Why is it that so many American Christians are working and striving so hard to become rich when Jesus specifically says it’s very hard for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom?  It’s like we’re trying to set ourselves up for failure and make it more difficult.

    Every Sunday the church is filled with proclamations of income increases, promotions, and other money related prayers.  I think we spend more time worrying about money and the acquisition of it than we do worrying about the work of the Kingdom of God.

    We are deliberately making it difficult to enter the Kingdom.  Jesus is telling us all throughout the gospels, don’t live for this world, don’t live according to this world’s standards, don’t love the things of this world, but it seems to me that is exactly what the majority of the church is doing.

    The reason why Jesus said it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom is because “rich people” don’t think they need to rely on God for their provision.  They’ve proved to themselves that they are the ones that are responsible for what they have and what they will get.  When Jesus asks a rich person how to feed 5,000 people he  immediately looks in his pocket to see if he has enough money.

    The Kingdom of God operates differently than the world.  The Kingdom of God is not “heaven” after you die.  It is God’s way of doing things, and Jesus came to the earth to proclaim that God’s way of doing things was here on the earth now.  And in order to enter into the Kingdom, or God’s way of doing things, you must be born again, or from above.  We were born once into the ways of this world, we must be born again into the ways of the Kingdom.
 
    So, when we are “rich” it makes it hard to enter into the way God does things because it goes against everything we’ve known.  Thinking that when there is a need, provision is based on finances.  When there is sickness thinking the only hope lies in a pill or hospital.  Jesus came to demonstrate what the Kingdom of God looks like and how it operates, and it is supreme over this world.  That is why Jesus did the miracles, calmed the storms, walked on water, etc, it’s because He wasn’t operating according to the ways of this world, He was operating according to the ways of God, His Kingdom, and He demonstrated it.

    When we build our own kingdoms, with our own hard work and sweat, we protect it more and we have more pride in it and in ourselves.  So it becomes offensivee when someone attempts to take those things away, even if it’s Jesus.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
Luke 18:22-24

    I’m not going to tell you that Jesus isn’t asking you to sell everything you have.  I think Jesus is telling all of us to forsake all that we have and follow after Him (Luke 14:25-35), even our earthly possessions and plans.  Instead of thinking this verse is for someone else, imagine Jesus is talking directly to you right this very second.  How do you respond to this request?  Will you give it all or will you walk away sad.
 
    Really take a minute and think about how your heart responds to the question.  Is there an offense there?  If there is, begin to pray that God will take away that offense so you can fully serve Him.

    What if there isn’t offense in your heart?  Then you just need to obey it.  Begin the process of getting free from the bonds of this world and let God teach you how to follow after Him according to Luke 14:25-35.  Don’t be lukewarm in this area, be red hot with fire because the Lord spits the lukewarm out!  Obey this verse with great zeal and allow God to reveal His Kingdom to you.

    I’m sure some of you are saying…”Wait a minute, I’m not rich!”  Who are you comparing yourself to?  Your neighbor?  Let’s put this in proper perspective:

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace … you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

20% of the population in the developed nations, consume 86% of the world’s goods.

80% of the world’s population have incomes of less than $700 a year. The ratio of the income of the top 20% to that of the poorest 2% has morethan doubled in recent decades-from 30:1 in 1960 to 78:1 in 1994.

2.9 billion people—or two-thirds of the developing world-have no access to a toilet, not even a pit latrine.

Only 8% of the world’s population even owns a car.

    To most Americans, "poverty" means destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, appropriate clothing, and reasonable shelter. In reality, only asmall fraction of persons classified as "poor" by the Census Bureau meet this description. The bulk of the "poor" live in material conditions which would have been judged comfortable or well-off just a few generations ago. Most "poor" Americans today are better housed, better fed, and own more personal property than average Americans throughout much of this century. Various government reports provide an interesting portrait of those the Census Bureau calls "poor."

    In 1995, 41 percent of all "poor" households owned their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as "poor" is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio. Over three-quarters of a million "poor" persons own homes worth over $150,000; nearly 200,000 "poor" persons own homes worth over $300,000.

    Only 7.5 percent of "poor" households are overcrowded. Nearly 60 percent have two or more rooms per person. The average "poor" American has a third more living space than the average Japanese and four times as much living space as the average Russian. Note: These comparisons are to the average Russians and Japanese, not to those the government classifies as poor.

    Seventy percent of "poor" households own a car; 27 percent own two or more cars. Two-thirds of "poor" households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago only 36 percent of the entire US population enjoyed air conditioning.

    Ninety-seven percent of "poor" households have a color television. Nearly half own two or more color televisions. Nearly three-quarters have a VCR; almost one in five has two VCRs. Sixty-four percent own microwave ovens; half have a stereo system; and over a quarter have an automatic dishwasher.

    Despite frequent charges of widespread hunger in the US, 84 percent of the poor say their families have "enough" food to eat; 13 percent state they "sometimes" do not have enough to eat; while 3 percent report they "often" do not have enough to eat.

 
    Whether you consider yourself rich or not, Luke 14:25-35 still applies to you.
 
    Just like everything else in the Kingdom of God, if you want to be truly rich, you must give everything away.  In order to live, you must die. 
In order to be free, you must be bound to Jesus.

    What is holding you back?  Are you waiting until you have enough money to serve God and do the things He wants you to do?  Who’s will is coming first in that relationship, your’s or God’s?  God wants the first of everything, why do we always try to give Him the left overs?  We tend to wait until we’re done with our lives before we let Him use it.  He needs strong young people with life serving in His Kingdom.

What To Take From This:  I’m not “against” money.  I am against what it represents and the amount of control it has over the children of God.  To be honest, if your goal is to become rich, there is a problem.  If your goal is to wait until your rich enough to serve God, there is a problem.  We need to come to a point where we aren’t controlled by money, whether in abundance or in lack.  It shouldn’t matter either way, we need to serve God despite the bank account.
    Check your heart and discover whether you are affected by desiring to be rich according to the world’s standards.  Instead learn what it is to be rich according to the standard of God’s Kingdom, which is eternal.