Feb 26: Handle with care!

Mt 19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Is money bad? No. We need money to survive. Its almost as important as the air we breathe. Without money, you cannot buy or sell. You cannot travel places. You cannot even have a roof over your head. I don’t think there is much need to justify that having money is important. I would also go as far as saying that having a lot of money is not necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of good people in this world that are extremely wealthy. In fact, some of God’s favorite people as told to us in the Bible were not paupers, but wealthy people like Abraham, Joseph, Job, and Solomon!

So, then why does Jesus say that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven? Let’s take this verse in context. Earlier, Jesus encounters a rich young man who comes to Him seeking the path to eternal life. At first Jesus asks the young chap to keep the ten commandments but later asks the same man to sell everything that he had and follow Him! Keeping the law was no problem for the young man, but letting go of the wealth was a no, no for him. Jesus knew that deep down this young man loved his cash and all his stuff. And so threw a challenge at him to let go if and come after Him. But that was too much of an ask. So instead of doing what Jesus asked of him, he decided to keep the money with him and let go of Jesus.

And that is exactly the danger with a lot of money. There is a high chance you get so attracted to it, that letting go of it, or even giving it out to bless someone in need becomes an impossible task. Money starts becoming an issue when you start loving it. A good way to check if we love money too much is to look at our own giving habits. Someone can have a lot of money and still be stingy. Someone can be rich but still be insecure. To such a person, Jesus would say “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for you to enter the kingdom of God”.

Ok so how much money is enough money? Listen to this prayer by Agur in Proverbs 30:

7 O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.

8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!    

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”    

And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name

What a beautiful prayer to pray. In a world, where everyone wants more and more, we can ask the Lord to give us just enough to satisfy our needs. Oh, it’s a daring prayer. But then would you rather have just sufficient in this world and enter the kingdom of God or have excess and miss out on entering paradise?

Don’t misunderstand me. This does not mean that God cannot make someone rich. He can do anything with anyone. But just because God blesses someone with wealth, does not mean they are in love with it or attached to it. Job and Abraham are great examples. Both lost their comfortable lifestyles, but neither denied God. Their hearts were in the right place. They loved God more than any material thing in this world. And because of their faithfulness, they kept getting more and more blessed.

But the conclusion of the matter remains the same. Don’t let the earthly treasures distract you in your walk with God. Don’t get too attached to your savings and investments in this world. Be rich in your giving. And if you feel its getting the better of you, ask the Lord to give you just enough to satisfy your needs. How you handle your money matters. Handle it with care!