Six truths about Jesus: Truth #3 - Jesus thinks wealth is dangerous

Matthew 19:24: Jesus said "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."

First it's important to note what Jesus doesn't say, he doesn't say that wealth is evil. Wealth is not evil, but it can cause us to do evil things. (I hate to disagree with the prosperity gospel preachers, but it's hard to read this text and think that Jesus wants you to be rich.)

Wealth is dangerous.

In Mark 10 there is a rich youg ruler that comes to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor.

The young ruler walks away from Jesus because his wealth was more important. That is the danger with wealth, it becomes the most important thing in our lives.

There are so many more important things in this life than wealth, yet so many people spend their lives solely focused on accumulating as much wealth as possible. Along the way they miss out on the important things, like relationships and love.

A few weeks ago we received our giving statement for the past year. I opened and put it on the table to show my wife. It just so happened to be on the table next to a student loan bill and a credit card bill. As I looked at the three statements I noticed that if I hadn't given the money to church I could have paid off the credit card and made a dent in my student loan... I could have made my life easier, less stressful.

But I believe that God is at work at Abiding Grace. I believe that God takes our offerings and does beautiful things with them. I believe that of all my payments every month, the most important is the one that goes to our church.

What is the most important thing in your life? An easy way to answer that question is to ask what is the most important check you write every month?

Is it a check that makes your life better or a check that supports God's work?

(Sidenote: If you don't think that giving to your church is giving to God's work, then maybe you're going to the wrong church.)

(Sidenote #2: I feel like I'm writing this blog atop a soapbox. It's not my intention. I struggle with this as much as anyone... I really want my Harley back from my pre-seminary days. But I think this is what Jesus is trying to say to us. Then again, it may be a divine joke and the pearly gates are actually one giant eye of a needle.)