Wealth and the Kingdom of God

Matthew 19:23-26 (NLT)

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. 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!”  The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.  Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

Years ago a good friend asked to speak with me.  He was an executive of a small company that had been purchased by a larger company.  My friend became a multimillionaire overnight.  Obviously, he was delighted, but also concerned that because he now was so rich, his ability to please the Lord was jeopardized because of verses like the above. 

Jesus responded to a “rich young man” who had asked Jesus what was needed to inherit eternal life.  Jesus replied that he should keep the commandments and the man replied that indeed he had.  Then Jesus told the man that “if you want to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven……”.  The rich young man was unwilling to do this and then Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 19:23-26.  This story also is found in Mark 10:24-25 and Luke 18:24-25. 

Who is a rich person?  Who is Jesus talking about?  We don’t know the degree of wealth of the rich man to whom Jesus is speaking although verse 22 says that “he had great possessions”.  However, Jesus always knows the heart of a person.  He knew that this young man, while obedient in most respects to the great commandments, was focused on himself more than he was on others.  He may have loved God because of his obedience to God’s commandments, but he did not love his neighbor as he loved himself. 

Jesus’ words about the camel and the eye of a needle raises several questions.  Is He being humorous?  Was He talking about a real sewing needle?  Was there a gate in Jerusalem called “Needles Eye” that was too small for a camel to pass through unless you could convince the camel to crawl on its knees?  Was there some other passageway in these ancient places where it was practically impossible for a camel to pass through?  We truly don’t know.  Scholars write that there is no archaeological or historical evidence for any natural passageway that Jesus was referring to.     

A person who is rich in worldly possessions will have great challenges to live a life as Christ’s disciple.  Jesus said in Luke 14:33 that if you wish to be His disciple you have to give up all of your possessions.  To a wealthy person who wishes to be a disciple of Christ, how do you respond to a command like this?  Personally, I struggle with this verse perhaps more than any other in the Bible. 

I don’t believe that it is any more difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than a poor person.  Indeed, when Jesus made these statements, His disciples were astounded…..were they rich?  Most likely not, they were poor, yet they were still astounded and then asked the question, “who in the world can be saved?”  Perhaps the main thrust of this passage is not Jesus’ words about the rich man and the Kingdom of God, but His words that with God everything is possible.   That’s the real amazing grace of God, that it is through His love, grace and mercy that anyone who believes in God and in Jesus as Savior can enter the Kingdom of God.      

Being wealthy can certainly adversely affect your position in the Kingdom of God.  Wealth can cause self-sufficiency, that you don’t need a Savior, that you can handle everything life throws at you because you have many resources.  Wealth might also produce poor character such as pride, arrogance, and selfishness.  Yet, if God has blessed you with wealth, you can use your wealth for so many wonderful purposes.  Think of all the giving wealthy Christians have done to build hospitals, nursing homes, churches, missions, and the financial support of countless charitable programs. 

Wealth itself can be a blessing or a curse depending how whether it controls you or you control.  Remember that you cannot serve both God and mammon.  Which do you choose?    

“Since much wealth too often proves a snare and an encumbrance in the Christian's race, let him lighten the weight by 'dispersing abroad and giving to the poor'; whereby he will both soften the pilgrimage of his fellow travelers, and speed his own way the faster.” - Augustus Toplady

Deepening your faith

Colossians 2:7 (NLT)

Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

This verse is the basis for the well-known “2:7 Series” discipleship course offered by the Navigators Christian organization.  The 2:7 program was designed to build habit forming patterns in living for Christ and is based on the four action verbs found in Colossians 2:7:

1.     rooted in Christ

2.     built up in Christ

3.     strengthened in the faith

4.     overflowing with thankfulness to God

The progression makes sense.  Think of a new plant that you place in the ground, let’s say your favorite flower.  For the flower to grow, it must take root.  Once it takes root it starts to grow and begins to flourish.  The greater it grows the more flourishing it looks.  And, for a flower, the more flourishing it is, the more beautiful it appears and will draw high praise from those who admire its beauty. 

For trees to grow, their roots need to go deep into the soil in order to find water and nutrients for such growth.  For Christians to grow in their spiritual outlook and influence in bearing fruit in others’ lives, they must commit to deepening their spiritual roots in God’s Word (“truth” in Col 2:7).  The best, perhaps, only way to accomplish this is daily intake and meditation on God’s Word.  Haphazard Bible study will not deepen spiritual roots and not result in bearing fruit.  Both Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:8 speak of the importance of a life that is like a tree planted by streams of water whose roots are deep and much fruit is borne.    

There is something special about the mind that is saturated with God’s Word.  The person who allows his/her mind to be saturated with God’s Word becomes a very strong Christian person.  Indeed, faith is dependent on knowing the God’s Word (Romans 10:17).  And what is the result?  You will be overflowing with thankfulness to God.  The more you study the Bible, the more your faith deepens and grows and, consequently, the more that your life overflows with thanksgiving.  Somehow knowing and applying His Word enables you to see life from His perspective and what you see gives you a higher sense of appreciation and gratitude for all He is and has done. 

Here’s another benefit of being firmly rooted, grounded, and built up in the faith.  Such a person will bear fruit in other lives and when you see others benefiting from your actions and words, you are going to be especially thankful for what God has done in and with your life.  Read and connect John 15:5 and 15:7.  Jesus says that whoever abides in Him will bear much fruit (15:5).  He also says both abiding in Him and His words abiding in you will greatly affect answered prayer in your life (15:7).  Answered prayer(s) certainly elicit great thankfulness, who can argue about this great truth?

How deeply rooted and grounded are you in the Word of God and in your faith?  Are you overflowing with thankfulness?  Do you know for sure that you are bearing fruit---having a positive spiritual impact---in others’ lives?  Are your spiritual roots so deep and your faith so strong that nothing in the world around you—no matter how bad the news—can change how you feel—especially your thanksgiving--about God through Jesus being Savior and Lord of your life?  Keep striving to reach this level of spiritual depth and growth.           

Fight for your family

Nehemiah 4:14 (NLT)

Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, King of Persia (modern day Iran).  Artaxerxes granted permission to Nehemiah and Ezra to return to Jerusalem in 445 BC and rebuilt the city walls, destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  The Babylonians were conquered by the Persians (King Cyrus) in 539 BC with the Persian kings being more benevolent toward the Jews than the Babylonians had been.

However, as Nehemiah was making progress in this rebuilding project, he and his people faced opposition by other Jewish enemies---- Sanballat of Samaria, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of Ashdod (Neh 4:7).  These were the enemies of whom Nehemiah referred in this passage and that the Jewish people must not be afraid of them.

Nehemiah implores his leaders and all the Jewish people not to be afraid.  Think about how you would feel if you knew that there were people within miles of your home who were planning to kill you and your family.  That’s a situation that thankfully we never have to face living in this great nation, but imagine how you would feel if you and your loved ones’ lives were being threatened?  Would you not be afraid? 

Yet, Nehemiah writes “don’t be afraid of the enemy!”  Why not?  Because you are to remember the Lord who is great and glorious (glorious is also translated as awesome).  It is a major biblical principle---and please try to remember this (!)—that you are never to be afraid of anyone or anything except the Lord and fear of the Lord means to revere and honor Him. 

While this passage refers to people’s lives being threatened, it can also be used to help fight discouragement.  Discouragement is a great enemy of success and victory.  By definition discouragement is the opposite of courage.  Raphael Oye Taiwo writes that “discouragement is the devil’s tool which has caused many great efforts to be abandoned just when they are about to achieve their superb goals”.  How do you fight and overcome discouragement?  By remembering the Lord.  Remembering His promises.  Remembering His power and victory over all the “D” words---discouragement, despondency, despair, depression, and death. 

Nehemiah correlates remembering the Lord’s greatness and awesomeness with fighting for your family.  An interesting correlation!  The Hebrew word for “fight” indeed means to “engage in battle”.  Fight is a key word in Scripture, used 177 times in the Old Testament and a few times in the New Testament, most notably in II Tim 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  The Lord wants you to fight for your family.  In Nehemiah’s time, this fight was for the survival of the Jewish nation.  Today, you are to fight against worldly and satanic attacks on your family.  Satan will do anything he can to destroy your family’s mutual love and unity.  You are not to fight with your family; you are to fight for your family.  How?  To do this justice I would need a book to write about all the possibilities, but to summarize, you fight for your family against both physical and spiritual attacks in the following ways:

·  Praying for each family member every day.

·  Asking God to use His greatness and awesomeness to protect and guide each member of your family

  and your family unit as a whole.

·  Claim God’s promises for your family.

·  Encouraging, not putting down, each member of your family.  Often encouragement comes in the

  form of forgiveness.

·  Never give up on any member of your family, no matter how much trouble they have caused and how

  rebellious he/she might be.

There are many other ways that you fight for your family, but simply remembering the Lord and praying for your family (better yet, praying with your family) will go a long way toward keeping your family together and successfully resisting all the various attacks that come from the world and the devil.  Fight for your family because if you don’t, no one else will.

Biblical description of a fool

Proverbs 26:1-11 (NLT)

Honor is no more associated with fools
than snow with summer or rain with harvest.  Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
 an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.  Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle,
and a fool with a rod to his back!  Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,
 or you will become as foolish as they are.  Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, 
or they will become wise in their own estimation.  Trusting a fool to convey a message is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!  A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralyzed leg.  Honoring a fool is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.  A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.  An employer who hires a fool or a bystander 
is like an archer who shoots at random.  As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

When you hear the word “fool” what comes to mind?  You think of a kid in the corner wearing a dunce hat.  You think of a jester or clown.  You think of silly actors like The Three Stooges.  Maybe you think of the classic Beatles song, “The Fool on the Hill”.  You think of someone who has no common sense, makes poor decisions, and has little intelligence.  Whatever thoughts you have about the word “fool”, they are negative, derogatory, and even vicious.  Indeed, the Bible has a lot of derogatory things to say about a fool.    

The Hebrew word for fool (kĕciyl) means “stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one”.  Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (both written by King Solomon) uses this word for fool 67 times.  Each of these verses describes a fool very negatively, e.g. loves to do evil (13:19), has no wisdom nor even capable of becoming wise (17:16), unteachable/despises wisdom (1:7), proud (21:24), undisciplined (21:30), loses his temper (29:11), talks folly (15:2), unreliable/dishonest (26:6,10), lies (10:18), deceitful (14:8), perverse in speech (19:1), and many other disagreeable and dislikable personality traits.

The first eleven verses of Proverbs 26 describe a fool.  Note the writer’s use of similes, e.g. comparing two different things that use the words “like” or “as”.  For example verse 6---Trusting a fool to convey a message is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.  To be labeled as a fool is a very bad thing to happen to anyone.  No one wants to associate with a fool, work with him, or give him any responsibility.         

Verses 4 and 5----what’s the deal here?  Verse 4 states don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools while verse 5 writes be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools!  The Bible contradicts itself here, right?  Well, I had to do some searching about this possibility as I believe that the Bible is inerrant and cannot contradict itself.  What I found is that these seemingly contradictory statements are actually a common form of parallelism found in the Old Testament.  Parallelism is presenting one idea in one verse, then building on that idea in a subsequent verse.  Verse 4 warns against arguing with a fool on his own terms because doing so will cause you to be just like him.  You ignore him when he’s talking about relatively minor topics that are readily forgettable.  However, verse 5 indicates that there may be more serious situations where you need to respond to foolish words that reprove/rebuke the fool in the hope that the fool sees the stupidity of his words.  Otherwise the fool will continue to spout off and spread his foolish ideas to innocent others.  The fool needs to be rebuked when he/she is speaking lies about God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit or the Bible or salvation or other major doctrines of Christian faith.

Who becomes a fool?  I think that a major answer is found in Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart ‘there is no God’”.  Anyone who decides to turn his/her back on God, deny Him, and instead follow his/her own ways (Proverbs 12:15) is the fool that is described by so many verses in Proverbs.   And because people choose to be fools, those who choose to be wise by following the Lord are to have nothing to do with fools.   However, you should always pray for those you know and love who have chosen to be foolish that one day he/she might turn from foolish ways and be saved in Christ.   And always be careful that you, as a Christian, do not revert to foolish ways as the enemy, Satan himself, is always on the lookout to cause you to do something foolish.