Give it Up to Gain (Does the Bible NOT want us to be Rich?)
17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[d]”
20“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
And the same:
17As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
18-19Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.”
20He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!”
21Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
22The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
23-25Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”
26That set the disciples back on their heels. “Then who has any chance at all?” they asked.
27Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”
28Peter tried another angle: “We left everything and followed you.”
29-31Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life! This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first.”
The Rich Young Man. And the phrase: Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Is this saying that the rich cannot be Christian? Or to be a good Christian, one must not or cannot be rich?
As we’ve seen, God believes wisdom and trusting God is important, and if you do that, he honors riches. He desires us to live in abundance. So what is he saying?
Before Jesus makes that statement, the author makes the following comment about the rich young man: “He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.”
And that is the rub. First, seek the Kingdom of Heaven. To do that, we must relinquish the things we hold tight to: that is often our wealth — or for those who aren’t rich, just plain material comforts. Or — as we can see later — it can be negative judgments about wealth and those who have it or pursue it.
When we hold onto “stuff” — yes, it will be hard to get into the Kingdom of God. But, remember: after one is there, it will be “multiplied many times.”
The way to riches is to not hold onto it. Do not need it. To not strive for it. Another way to put it is to seek the Kingdom of God, which we’ll explore later is to find passions, share your talent, create value, form relationships, and share the Kingdom of God with others. Then the wealth is “multiplied” because we stopped “holding tightly” to stuff.
This is a hard, difficult concept. As an entrepreneur, we desire wealth, success, and riches. If you are poor or financially struggling, isn’t that what we focus, how can we get “more”?
What if it becomes a case of, “I have enough” and then, instead, seek the Kingdom of God: finding passions, acting with urgency, sharing your talent, serving the lesser, form relationships, and share the Kingdom of God with others?
For me this is hard, and maybe it is for you. Because we want to focus on the “money” aspect because — that’s what we want and need. But I read a profound statement the other day (by someone who is against all religion, ironically): You don’t get rich focusing on money, focus in “value.”
Prayer:
Write down your prayer in your own words, asking, “God, help me to let go of the things I hold tightly onto. It can be the comforts I have or the riches I covet. Fill me with trust that, if I let go, it will all be multiplied “a hundred times as much in this present age”
Praise:
Be thankful for the multiplying you will receive for letting go. Be thankful even if there are troubles, because it was promised that comes with the multiplying of resources, as well as with eternal life. And for this promise: “all things are possible with God!”
Actions:
Write what you can let to of, that you “hold tightly” to, that you consider your riches. Not just the actual money, stocks, 401K, but maybe your job, your aspirations, things you hold as prestigious, judgments (yes, if you hold judgments about wealth, that is your own source of ‘riches’). Write down in your heart, you will let go of them and invite them to be multiplied “a hundred times as much in this present age.”
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