The desire to be rich and successful and to have a lot of nice things is so woven into the fabric of our culture, especially in the suburbs, that the words of Jesus in 19.23-24 hit us like a train:
“Only with difficulty will a rich person 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.”
If you, like most people, want to be rich, then you need to weigh the weight of these words.
So what would we say today, if Jesus said to us “Sell all your possessions and give them to the poor”? What would we say in ten years, when we are comfortably established in those careers and making money? Will we, like the rich young man in this text, go away sorrowful because we have such great possessions? Will we choose earthly treasures, great possessions over Christ? That is the force that this text is meant to have. It is meant to make us question where we are putting our security.
You think, “the more money I have, the more I will give away.” And with all due respect, no you won’t. All the statistics show that the richer a person is, the less they give.
Don’t assume you will give it away later if you’re not willing to give it away now. Are you willing to be poor for Christ, if Christ calls you to that? Are you willing to hear the call to minister among the poorest of the poor? Would you teach in the inner city? Would you be a doctor in Haiti? Would you be a missionary? Are you willing to be poor if that is the life that God calls you to? Or do you implicitly rule out certain kinds of vocations and professions because “it doesn’t make enough money. I must be comfortable.”?
Please don’t mistake what I am saying – there is nothing wrong with being driven, working hard, and desiring excellence. But if you find that your life is motivated by little more than a desire to succeed and to be rich and to be comfortable, then you have missed the point of life. You have placed your faith in another gospel, the gospel according to consumer culture: “If you have a lot of money, you will be happy. If you have the nicest things, you will be satisfied. If you climb to the top and are successful, then you will be validated as a person.”
And all the while Jesus holds out the gospel of the kingdom and says, “If you have me, you will be happy. If you have me, you will be satisfied. If you have me, I validate you. I justify you.”
Lord, set me free from the love of money, from which all kinds of evil springs. Amen.
One question I often ask myself is, if God calls me to a vocation that earns little or no money, what would happen to my parents? I always assumed i would support my parents financially once I started working, but when I became a Christian, i slowly started to realize God may call me to do something where I would be unable to. I struggle with the urge to earn as much money as possible to support my family and trusting God to take care of them if I can't. (It also doesn't help that, you know, I really do like having money. haha). It's something I'm trying to figure out. I want to love my family well, but I also want to respond to God's calling(s), whatever it/they might be, with obedience.
ReplyDeleteI think the tension is a good one. I read last week the place where Jesus lambasts the Pharisees for giving their money to the temple instead of taking care of their parents. So taking care of parents is important, big time. But I think that as you grow older, you will see that if God calls you to full time missions, that he will also provide a way to see that your parents are cared for - through another sibling perhaps? :)
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