God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Many of us have read this bible verse:

“… it is easier for a camel to go thru the eye of the needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”(Matt 19:24)

The needle is not a sewing needle as most would suspect, the “Eye of the Needle” as per Wikipedia, has been claimed to be a gate in Jerusalem, which opened after the main gate was closed at night. A camel could not pass through the smaller gate unless it was stooped and had its baggage removed.

In this teaching, Jesus is saying that unless the rich person humbles themselves (stoops) and then removes any baggage in their life (repeated sin) they won’t be able to enter the Kingdom of God- a spiritual place here on earth filled with followers of God.

The baggage that must be removed can be anything that comes with wealth such as excessive pride, self confidence and self reliance.  It is not the wealth that is the problem, it is the attitude of the heart that comes with the wealth. Money is a popular topic in the bible and God uses it to bless people.

“The Lord has blessed my master abundantly and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle and silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and donkeys. (Gen 24:35)

What God is saying about the rich, is that wealth can keep us from achieving God’s best if it is obtained without the Lord’s direction- and thus it is a burden. For instance, let’s say we come up with a great idea to start a business and we begin without any thought of going to the Lord in prayer to ask for His opinion. We then work hard to get it up and running and after a few years of intense labor, it becomes very successful. This success brings us more work than we ever imagined and our income keeps rising. Down the road we realize that we don’t have wealth, wealth actually has us. It has chained us to excessive hours and our time is no longer our own.

The Lord on the other hand, would never give us the blessing of wealth along with a burden of excessive work. The bible tells us that Jesus went away from the crowds to rest and pray often- therefore rest is highly important to God- overwork is not.

Accumulating wealth with God’s direction, enhances our life. It won’t overburden us and we will receive it at the perfect time. God knows that wealth obtained before a close relationship with Him can actually hurt us. It will rob us from relying on Him for guidance, provision and a close relationship that will enhance our entire life. It will in fact, keep us out of the Kingdom of God here on earth- a place of peace, contentment and miracles.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”(Matt 6:33)

^OR

^“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”(Deuteronomy 8:17-18)

Food For Thought,

Lisa