Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:23
There seems to be growing divisions in our land: black – white, cool – geek, country – city, rich – poor. All media: whether traditional, professional, or social, are pushing whatever buttons they can in order to create greater division, distrust, and distance between people.
While there are many tools at their disposal, the one being used most often, with the greatest effect is outrage. Any advantage or disadvantage is cause for outrage. Everyone is devastated as a result. Whether it’s a minor difference of opinion, an accidental altercation, an escalating situation, or all-out war, people automatically press the thermonuclear warhead button, launching an all-out attack.
And the group of people most hated are the rich. They somehow got there without doing anything. And now they’re pressing and pushing their advantages over everyone. They seem to have all the benefits. They seem to not only have a nice house, but they also have nice cloths, cool cars, get good grades, have good jobs. In general, they live comfortable lives.
The end results are conflicting. People hate and distrust the rich because they maneuver everything to their advantage. And while they are hated, everyone wants to be them. They want to join the ranks of the rich. Even though they are despised, everyone wants to duplicate their lives.
While there certainly are advantages to being rich, Jesus says that they don’t go to the front of the line when it comes to him or eternity. He says that the rich are deeply disadvantaged when it comes to living well according to God’s infinite scales. They also have a much harder time gaining heaven. His evaluation is that the rich will have difficulty in giving their lives to God.
Their daily living will be marked with trusting their own instincts instead of trusting God. After all, they have had great success in this life through their intelligence and shrewd dealings, so why doesn’t that also work when it comes to spiritual things? If people think that rich people really know best, why wouldn’t God feel the same way?
This same idea is sung by Tevye in “If I Were a Rich Man”[1] from Fiddler on the Roof.
And it won't make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong
When you're rich, they think you really know!
But Jesus’ words shows us something not only about people, but about Jesus himself. It gives us great insight into the kind of person he was.
Jesus wasn’t afraid to say the hard things
He wasn’t he afraid to live his life a certain way. He didn’t change the way he did things just to please people. Yes, he was willing to alter his schedule to meet and talk with people. He was even ready to go someplace not on his schedule to heal someone.
But his motivation in all these things wasn’t to please people. It was to love his heavenly Father and love on people. That was his motivation. That’s what fired his canon. That revealed the purpose of his life.
And that also tells us why the rich will have difficulty. They will be pulled away from the things of God and towards the things of this life. Running after money will be in the front of their minds, taking up lots of their attention and energies.
Winning the lottery may not be the answer to your prayers, it may actually be a great curse. Did you know that 40 percent of past lottery grand-prize winners were broke within three to five years[2]. That number increases to 70% within seven years. Several winners died horribly or witnessed those close to them suffer[3]. On average, after 10 years, they’d saved only 16 cents of every dollar they won[4].
Money is not the answer to our problems. Money can’t open the door to happiness, contentment, and peace. The only entrance to those things is Jesus.
Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
Revelation 3:20 NLT
Yes, Jesus is the entrance to the life we really want. The life we really need
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