Guilty Money

I’ll say it again—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!” – Matthew 19:24 (NLT)

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. – 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NLT)

We in America are rich. Believe it or not, we are. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, that if you know that you will eat later today, you’re in the richest 20% of people in the world or something like that. If you drive a car, you’re in the richest 10%; if you have a household income over $50,000, you’re in the richest like .2% or something ridiculous like that. (Actual figures may vary – i didn’t have time to look them up, but you get the idea.)

Many of us will read the passage from Matthew 19 and feel guilty because as Jesus asks the rich man to give away all he has and that man refusing, or at least hesitating, Jesus responds saying that it’s virtually impossible for rich people to enter heaven. Since many of us rank in the top few percentage of the world’s richest people, the situation does not look that bright for us.

This passage from 1 Timothy sheds the much-needed light on the matter. Money is not the root of evil, love of money is. How do we deal with our wealth? Are we generous? Are we willing, if asked, to give up our wealth? Do we do good with our riches? It is hard, and society teaches us otherwise, to hold loosely to our money and to use it for good rather than hoard it and use it to make more money for ourselves or to use it to live a more lavish lifestyle. But if you can use it for good, congratulations, you managed to shove a camel through the eye of a needle!