Matthew 19:23-26 "It's Hard To Be Rich"

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”


 A couple of quick & perhaps obvious thoughts:

First, Jesus says bluntly that it is hard for someone who is rich to enter His Kingdom.  Either He is stupid and doesn't know what He is talking about, or He is evil and mean spirited and lying to us, or He is actually God and does, indeed, know what He is talking about and it is, in fact, hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom.   If this is the case (and of course it is) we need no other evidence to know that Prosperity teaching that claims God wants all of His followers to be rich and God blesses sincere faith with financial wealth, is wrong; it is absolutely contrary to what Jesus taught.  God wants us to enter His Kingdom.  God wants us to love Him and trust Him and depend upon Him.  If being rich makes loving and trusting and depending upon Him more difficult, it is contrary to the Kingdom.

Second, I've heard many people teach that the "Eye of the Needle" was a small gate that merchants had to use after the main gates of the city were closed at night.  And with this smaller gate, camels had to be unloaded, making entering the city after hours difficult and inconvenient.  The response of the disciples to this teaching, however, indicates that Jesus said this in a literal sense -not referring to a smaller gate less convenient gate.   They said, "But Jesus, it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."  It caused them to ask, "How can anyone be saved?"

I think we are often drawn to softer interpretations of Christ's teachings because we it makes following Jesus easier -it suits us.  Maybe we are rich, or maybe we would like to be rich -and we really don't like Scripture telling us that our goals are wrong.  After all, Jesus went on to say, "with God it is possible."  So, it is not completely impossible for a rich person to enter the Kingdom.  There is always the hope of Divine Intervention. 

But, here is the rub.  If we are worried about how to acquire and keep wealth -if we are looking for loopholes -if we are counting on Divine Intervention so that we can keep our wealth for ourselves, we have already missed the mark.  

And if in the process of sincerely seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness He blesses us financially, we would be well advised to ask Him why.  What is His purpose?  What is His agenda for the wealth He has given?  It is, after all, hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom.

I know this sounds as if God is opposed to wealth.  That is not necessarily the case.  It is more that God is opposed to whatever hinders us from attaining intimacy and relationship with Him.  God is opposed to whatever hinders us from entering the Kingdom.  And for all but a very select few, serious wealth is a spiritual hindrance, not a spiritual blessing.