IT'S ABOUT TRUST
Mark 10:23-27 NKJV
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.” 26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?” 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
Jesus had just finished an interchange with the man called the rich young ruler. Jesus gave this man an opportunity to be one of His followers, but the young man balked. Jesus asked him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him. The man was sad. He wanted eternal life, but he did not want it enough to sell his stuff and follow Jesus.
Jesus used this as another teaching moment with the disciples. The concept was hard for them to grasp. To the Jewish culture, wealth was a sign of God's blessing. After all, many of the early Jewish fathers were wealthy. Abraham, Issac, and Jacob had all been blessed to have an abundance. The mistake came when wealth was equated with godliness.
What is important to understand is that Jesus was not saying that people of wealth were unable to go to heaven. What He was saying was that those who trust in their riches would not enter the Kingdom of God. We can look at this from two different perspectives.
Those who put their trust in money and not in Jesus as their Savior will never be born again. The challenge with wealth is that it can create an atmosphere of pride. It takes humility to receive Christ and realize that we can not save ourselves. So money and good deeds are not good enough. But people who are rich can certainly be born again. Paul told Timothy to warn those who had money to be humble and rich in good works. He did not say to tell those with money they need to get rid of all of it so they can go to heaven.
The other perspective is that operating in God's Kingdom while we are here is difficult if trust is in money and not in God. We walk by faith, not by sight. We walk by what we see in God's Word, not by what we can feel and touch. It is much easier to trust in the tangible than to walk by faith. Those who have material wealth have more tangibles that they can put their trust in.
Jesus is not saying that to follow Him, we have to sell everything, give it to the poor, and be poor for the rest of our lives. It's perfectly fine to have money, but we don't love it or put our trust in it. We trust in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17).
APPLICATION
I often wonder if Jesus asking the rich young man to sell his stuff and give to the poor was a test. If this man had agreed to do that, it would have been an indication of his hunger for God and willingness to put Jesus before his own personal interests. I do not believe that we are called to adopt a vow of poverty. I have great admiration for those willing to do without in order to serve God, but that should be a personal conviction, not a biblical mandate.
With God, all things are possible. It's possible to serve God, and have a heart for Him, and be wealthy. It's not the position of our bank account but the position of our heart that matters most.