City Life Starter

The Word

Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, 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.”

Those who heard this asked, “who then can be saved?”

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Luke 18:25

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.

Ezekiel 16:49-50a

One of the dangers of having a lot of money is that you may be quite satisfied with the kinds of happiness money can give an so fail to realize your need for God. If everything seems to come simply by signing checks, you may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God.

C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity Book 4, Ch 9

Exegesis

Money in all forms has existed since humans were created by God. We rely on exchanging valuables in order to gain what we need(and hope to make a profit in return). Once we receive what we need, it is hard to find a dependence on anything else. It is hard to serve God when money serves us. Ray Vander Laan once put it that you can take a Christian out of the desert, but not the desert out of the Christian. The desert is where we learn to rely on God for our every needs, for the food and water to survive. Once we leave the desert and forget to rely on God, we lose part of what gives us strength.

There is a reason that the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). It can create independence from God and this independence can then lead to dependence on others things. We start to forget who we are and lose sight for the need of a savior. In essence, money can make Christians weak and less caring for others. This attitude will lead to being overfed and unconcerned for others and their spiritual wellbeing.

With God, anything is possible. Rich people can get to heaven, as Jesus says. But it IS harder to give up something that brings us comfort. The rich young ruler did not want to give up his possessions to follow Jesus. He didn’t understand that the reliance on God would bring actual freedom in his life and remove the idols that chained him to this earth.

We have to understand the dangers of what money can do when we rely on it for our needs and comforts. How can God provide for you if you never have a need to rely on Him?

Application

We live in one of the richest countries in the world and we often forget the struggles of those who we live in our community and around the world. Our focus should always be outward, not inward. If God has blessed you through work and income, look to see how God wants to use you to further His kingdom. As soon as your reliance on God becomes less, so does your own spiritual growth. Do not forget the desert and the need it brings for God.

So the question you ultimately have to ask yourself is simply, would you give everything up to follow Jesus to a different place of the world? If you cannot say so today, pray that God can remove these idols in your life. God may never ask you to drop everything to serve Him in a different country, but He may. And if He did, it would be His right to ask this of you.

Thus, the ultimate question you have to ask yourself is, would you walk away sad like the rich young ruler or follow Jesus?

Prayer

God, help me to rely on you for all my needs. Money is fleeting and at any moment it can disappear. Help me to make use of what you have given me for your kingdom. Let me always keep you first in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.