“I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell 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.”-Matthew 19:23
This verse is terrifying if you are rich.
So then it stands to question,
who exactly are the rich?
Truth is, If you live in the states,
you're already one of the richest people in the world.
That's hard to swallow.
I sure don't feel rich most of the time.
But the fact of the matter is,
I always know that my next meal is coming.
I have a car of my own.
I have a nice roof over my head.
Air conditioning.
Washers and dryers.
Yet still I complain when I don't have enough
to buy another cup o joe at Starbucks.
Or a new pair of skinnies that I like
(skinnies everyone, not skivies).
Or some new chuck taylor's.
Or…..
I always need more.
What I have now just isn't enough to get by.
That's always the way it goes in Amurrica, right?
No one is ever happy with how much they have,
yet we're some of the richest peope in the world.
The Bible reference used above is a little awkward,
but the picture it paints is crystal clear.
Let’s go ahead and just imagine it:
A camel jumping through the eye of a needle.
Pretty crazy, right?
Pretty impossible even.
And God says that it’s easier for a camel to do that
than for a rich man to enter his kingdom!
The Bible is filled with references to money.
Here are just a few more:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs.” -1 Timothy 6:10
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
–Matthew 6:24
“Keep your lives free from the love of money,
and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” –Hebrews 13:5
I’d say one thing is clear:
It’s extremely important to God how we handle our money.
That’s lesson #1.
Lesson #2 is equally important.
Contentment.
A word we hear all the time,
But that is rarely embraced.
I came on the Race with very little money.
I brought everything that I had saved.
It wasn’t very much, because the rest of
it went toward making sure I got through my
senior year of college.
This led to quite an issue with envy.
I would see my squadmates that had a lot
more and find myself jealous of them
or wishing that I had as much money as they did.
Not ok.
God has had to do some major heart work.
I find myself still wishing I had more so I can do
a bunch of impulsive things.
This makes me so angry at myself ,
And it’s hard to give myself grace,
because I think of my baby girl
who has spent her childhood running around
the streets begging for money.
For the entire village that has to rely on
outside help in order to survive.
Contentment doesn’t come easily.
But it is without question demanded of those
who call themselves believers.
If he cannot trust us with what we have now,
How can he entrust us with more later?
I could go on and on,
but I think you get my point.
My brother Andrew pulled me aside today
And we went for a walk.
We talked about all of this
and exhausted the topic.
It made me realize how much junk
is inside of me, and money is the root.
Money has become a god to me,
and it has effected several areas of my
walk with Christ.
But no more.
This is new season,
And by the grace of God,
I will learn how to surrender
my attachment to money
and use it as He desires.
It’s His anyway.
