Queen Valley Community Lutheran Church
Queen Valley AZ
21 October 2012
Mark 10:23-31

Wealth and Religion

It’s ironic that today it’s popular to claim that Religion - and especially Christianity - is a tool of upper class males to dominate and subjugate the lower classes, women and minorities; that religion is the domain of the wealthy and powerful. These ideas have been around for a long time, of course; nothing is new under the sun. In fact, it appears that the Disciples had a similar idea about religion, as they listened with amazement to what Jesus had to say about wealth and religion.

Shaking his head as the rich young man we talked about last week walked away, sorrowful, having decided he loved his wealth and power more than God, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Now we need to pay attention to what Jesus is saying here, because we are the wealthiest nation that has ever lived on this planet.

I realize that probably none of us considers himself really wealthy. We all feel like we are just getting by, and sometimes just barely that. We all live with the thought that we might not be able to afford to live if our medical bills get to be too much, or if our investment account doesn’t quit losing value - or if we get raided by identity theft or some such scam.

But think of this: Homeless people living on the streets of any American city are in the top 25% of the world, economically. Most of us here, no matter how we see our need compared to our cash flow, are much better off than them. Kings of not many years ago would have given anything to live in homes as safe and comfortable as one of the least expensive mobile homes in the Queen Valley RV park.

People all around the world look at you and me and say, “Sure, it’s easy for you Americans to talk about faith and trusting God. Look at you! I could blab about trusting God too, if I had all your advantages. Try living on what I do, and see if you still trust in God!”

So if what Jesus said about the wealthy having a hard time getting into the Kingdom of Heaven is true, then we had better be paying attention!

The Disciples were astonished at His remark. What could Jesus possibly mean?

So Jesus explained. “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Then He used this illustration that we all know so well: “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

Now the Disciples were even more astonished. A camel through the eye of a needle? That was impossible!

And of course, that’s the easiest explanation: For any of us to enter the Kingdom of God by our own power or effort is impossible, and only God can make this happen. Every time anyone is saved, it’s a miracle; a sovereign work of God by His Spirit.

There is another explanation, however, that helps us to understand the illustration even more pointedly.

The cities of the Middle East in those days were surrounded by high, thick, defensive walls. The gates were shut at night to keep gangs of bandits out, and once they were closed, they were not opened until the next morning, no matter what.

So if you were a traveling merchant planning to open a stall in the marketplace the next morning and you arrived after the gate was closed, you would have to spend the night outside the wall - with the bandits. Good luck; keep your powder dry, and don’t fall asleep!

But there was a way to get into the city even after the gate was shut. Next to the main gate there was a small, narrow door, just big enough for one man to get through at a time. It involved a long, narrow passage through the thick wall, and often was built with a tight turn in the middle of the passage, to keep bandits from rushing through it.

But what about your camel? A merchant couldn’t leave all his goods outside on the camel, for the thieves to pick over in the night, could he?

The only way for the camel to get through that long, narrow passage, was to take everything off the camel, unload the pack of merchandise, and then get the camel to kneel. You could pull it through, unloaded and on its knees.

That little gate was called the “eye of the needle” and getting through it was called “threading the needle.”

It was still a miracle for a camel to get though there. No camel would ever try it on its own volition, and its owner would have to pull it carefully through. It was against the camel’s nature to even try it, but if the camel really trusted its owner, it could be done.

Peter understood the illustration. He pointed out to Jesus that he and the other disciples, who had businesses and savings accounts, boats and equipment, had left it all behind to follow Him. They were sort of like the camel, weren’t they?

Jesus assured Peter and the others that He was aware of everything they had given up to follow Him, and that there would be a reward for them and anyone else who did what they had done; and not just a reward in heaven, either.

In fact, He began his declaration with the familiar words, “Assuredly I say to you,” or the way most of us first heard it in the old King James version, “Verily, Verily, I say unto you,” which means: “What I am about to say is so good and so wonderful that you’re going to have a hard time believing it; but it’s the truth.”

And then, in the context of that statement, He makes this promise: “...There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and Gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time - houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions - and in the age to come, eternal life.”

You can’t get in, if you insist on hanging on to and trusting in your material wealth, power, position, and relationships. The only way in is empty, and on your knees.

Again, as in last week’s message from God, it’s all about the heart. God isn’t saying that you have to be poor to be saved; there are many seriously wealthy Christians! And I’m glad there are, because their tithes and offerings make a lot of the Kingdom work possible. The Bible says that God delights in the prosperity of His children!

It just means unloading our possessions from our heart, like the merchants of old had to unload their camels. (Remember they picked up their possessions again on the other side!) It means that we look up to heaven with hearts open and hands outstretched and say, “All I have is from You, Lord, and all I have is for You. Help me live with the blessings you give me in a way that pleases and glorifies You.” If He takes it all away tomorrow, I’m ok! I trust the integrity of His heart and the skillfulness of His hands to guide my life. If He gives me ten or a hundredfold more tomorrow, I’m ok! I just pray that He can trust me to handle it wisely...

God has promised that He will take care of every single one of our needs as we walk with Him through this life. He’s actually promised that He will do more than meet our basic needs, He will bountifully bless us! (With persecutions, yes, but that’s a topic for another day...) He is all we need! He is our ultimate supply. We don’t need to pursue or hang onto wealth out of a fear that we will not have enough.

God has reassured us of this in many places in His Word: Psalm 37 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart!” Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteous and all these things shall be added unto you!” Trust Him with your heart, your money, your future, your life -- He is all we need!