Someone recently said to me that it looked to them that we were trying to balance the budget (US Federal Budget) on the backs of the poor and giving the rich a pass on taxes. Now there is a lot that can be said here and perhaps someday we will do so. The rabbit trails are many. I want to comment on my reply which was, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Now for those who do not know about this statement found in Mark 10, Luke 18 and Matthew 19, it comes from Jesus as he speaks to his disciples about why the rich young man to whom he was previously speaking went away sorrowing. Here we have Jesus speaking to a young man who apparently was a top notch fellow. He had kept all the commandments and made all the right choices in his life to this point. To get the young man to recognize where his devotion really was Jesus said that in spite of all the high qualities he appeared possess there was one thing that was keeping him from being truly great . . . his great wealth. (Keep in mind that wealth is always measured against what others have or do not have). If he wants to truly find eternal life he must "go sell all that he possess and give the proceeds to the poor." Now clearly the message is that if one is to enter the kingdom of God he must give all of himself to God. In this case giving to God is meeting the needs of those who are "poor." You will notice that Jesus does not offer any qualifiers. It is just "to the poor." He does not consider how they became poor; why they remained poor; or anything else regarding their condition. All we are to know is that they are poor. We might get some idea of what may have been in his mind when he said the word "poor" from his definition of pure religion as caring for widows and orphans. We might be further enlightened by the fact that he defined ministry to himself by his followers as caring for those in prison, those who were destitute (hungry, thirsty and naked) homeless (stranger) or sick. The young man went away sorrowing because according to Jesus "he had great riches" and it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Hence we must never underestimate the power of the desire for wealth to deceive and divert us from the narrow way of kingdom life, i.e. caring for the needy in our society. My point in referring to this saying of Jesus regarding the balancing of the budget is that what we do in our budgeting will reveal whether we are a kingdom people or not. If indeed we are a "Christian nation," as some believe, then why are we balancing our budget on the backs of our poor and our elderly. ("straight is the way and narrow is the gate that leads to everlasting life"). If we are a truly Christian nation our budget should reflect it. What one does with his/her money says a lot about where their heart really is. Wealth makes a great servant but a nasty master.
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Eye of A Needle
Someone recently said to me that it looked to them that we were trying to balance the budget (US Federal Budget) on the backs of the poor and giving the rich a pass on taxes. Now there is a lot that can be said here and perhaps someday we will do so. The rabbit trails are many. I want to comment on my reply which was, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Now for those who do not know about this statement found in Mark 10, Luke 18 and Matthew 19, it comes from Jesus as he speaks to his disciples about why the rich young man to whom he was previously speaking went away sorrowing. Here we have Jesus speaking to a young man who apparently was a top notch fellow. He had kept all the commandments and made all the right choices in his life to this point. To get the young man to recognize where his devotion really was Jesus said that in spite of all the high qualities he appeared possess there was one thing that was keeping him from being truly great . . . his great wealth. (Keep in mind that wealth is always measured against what others have or do not have). If he wants to truly find eternal life he must "go sell all that he possess and give the proceeds to the poor." Now clearly the message is that if one is to enter the kingdom of God he must give all of himself to God. In this case giving to God is meeting the needs of those who are "poor." You will notice that Jesus does not offer any qualifiers. It is just "to the poor." He does not consider how they became poor; why they remained poor; or anything else regarding their condition. All we are to know is that they are poor. We might get some idea of what may have been in his mind when he said the word "poor" from his definition of pure religion as caring for widows and orphans. We might be further enlightened by the fact that he defined ministry to himself by his followers as caring for those in prison, those who were destitute (hungry, thirsty and naked) homeless (stranger) or sick. The young man went away sorrowing because according to Jesus "he had great riches" and it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Hence we must never underestimate the power of the desire for wealth to deceive and divert us from the narrow way of kingdom life, i.e. caring for the needy in our society. My point in referring to this saying of Jesus regarding the balancing of the budget is that what we do in our budgeting will reveal whether we are a kingdom people or not. If indeed we are a "Christian nation," as some believe, then why are we balancing our budget on the backs of our poor and our elderly. ("straight is the way and narrow is the gate that leads to everlasting life"). If we are a truly Christian nation our budget should reflect it. What one does with his/her money says a lot about where their heart really is. Wealth makes a great servant but a nasty master.
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Good food for thought.
ReplyDeleteFred