I just read a post on FreeMoneyFinance this morning (he posts about a Money in the Bible every Sunday) about the famous Matthew 19 verse where Jesus says it is,”easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
This is a verse that is so frequently taken out of context, especially by people who have never opened a Bible. FMF lays out a great explanation of the verse by providing the whole passage and looking at it in context.
And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;
HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
“Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”
And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
One commenter noted, “The amount of money that we have is irrelevant. We are all meant to live abundantly. The problem arises when your love for money supersedes your love for God. Jesus is pointing out that it is easy for a person with lots of money to become attached to the money and therefore makes it hard to give that up for God. i.e. Love for God above all else. Of course this can happen for anyone with any amount of money.”
FreeMoneyFinance agreed with, “I agree with the commenter above who thinks this is about the person’s attitude. It’s hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven because he usually has other things on his mind, namely his wealth (protecting it, growing it, enjoying it), and puts it before everything else. As such, serving God and living according to Jesus’s teachings is far, far removed from his thoughts and actions.”
Personally, I think the comments above are right on.
I don’t think “rich” can be defined by an actual dollar amount. I have seen people with not much money who would qualify as being “rich” like the young man in that passage, because they are so attached to their possessions. You don’t need much money (or any money for that matter) to make money a higher priority than God.
Matthew 6:24 says,”No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
On the other hand I have seen people who had a ton of cash, but realized that they were merely stewards of what God had given them and cared very little about material possessions. They were focused on using their wealth to help people and do whatever God required of them. They gladly gave their money, because they were not serving money, but were serving God.
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And you can live a life full of riches and non-attachment to money without any religious belief whatsoever.
Sounds like we’re on the same page on this one!
great point. recently someone said that their life has been made much easier by not getting attached to things since things come and go. this is a challenge, but i really belive we can all live that way–free from things.
@plonkee
You are right and I am glad that you are!!
@FMF
Yes, I am with you – thanks for the great post!
@Rose
Agreed, Paul said that he learned how to live in plenty and in poverty – he was content whether he was living with plenty or in lack. This is a good attitude to have
Its funny, i also just blogged about this verse a couple days ago, and have been discussing it with family/friends lately. Interesting conversation! Here’s our conclusion on my God & Mammon blog – http://www.godmammon.com/2007/10/camel-in-eye-of-needle.html
I truly think it’s almost impossible to find God when one is well off financially and not suffering in some form or another. The exception would be if the individual had suffered greatly previously and has since then lived a life of true humility.
Here’s a confession. A few years ago, I was struggling a bit financially and began to attend church more regularly, even playing drums for the praise team. Now I am beginning to thrive and find myself attending much less. I am starting to spend more time tending to my side businesses than attending church+praying.
I am trying to correct this problem but it’s an unfortunate reality.
-Raymond
@money blue book
I agree that it is difficult, but it is definitely not impossible – if it were then God could never bless us – we would have to just live miserable lives on earth until we got to heaven.
But God’s desire is to prosper and bless us, but of course He doesn’t want the blessing to become more interesting to us than He is. He wants first place in our lives and He deserves it. I really encourage you to stop and refocus back on God – He is the one who gives you the air you breathe – don’t forget that you are nothing without Him. You seem to know this already, but all the money in the world will still leave you empty without your relationship with God.
I don`t believe you really ansered the question. Back in the day, the eye of the needle was a name they gave to the gate of a city( can`t rember which one) anyway, camels carrying loads on there backs had to get down on there knees and crawl threw the gate of the city. Reserch it you`ll see I`m correct. The reference was a good point by Jesus because it was very hard for the camels, the same as it is for people . God bless , get out side and enjoy the world even if it`s as small as seeing a bird or the sky, blue with the sunshine. Lu