Read: Luke 18

"And Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard is it for those who are wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God!' 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.'" Luke 18:24-25

Examine:

When God looks down on the world and judges it He does not look at America as being separate from the rest of the world. He sees the world as one and will judge it as one. When wealth is examined across the world a couple interesting facts emerge. If your household income is greater that $25,000 then that places you in the top 10% of the world's wealth. If your household income exceeds $50,000 then that places you in the top 1% of the world's wealth.

Apply:

I am in the top 1% of the world's wealth and as such qualify in Biblical terms as being a wealthy man. I can no longer look at passages such as this one and dismiss the application as being for someone else. In reading this passage from Luke I see three things that my wealth can do to weaken my faith. First, it makes it hard to persist in prayer. The first parable in this chapter illustrated the need to pray at all times and not stop. The problem is that my life does not require constant prayer. I have all my basic needs covered without God. If I am hungry I do not have to pray, I walk to the kitchen. If I am lonely I do not have to pray, I just call out to a friend or pick up one of my kids. If I want to be secure when I rest I do not have to pray, I just get up and lock my door. If I am sick I do not have to pray, I just leave my house and go see a doctor. Persistent and passionate prayers are hard for a wealthy man to achieve.

It is also easy to confuse material comfort as being spiritual blessing. In verse 8-14 of this passage Christ tells the story of a Pharisee comparing himself to others and then thanking God he was not like them. I have been guilty of looking upon the poverty in the world and saying, "We sure are blessed to live in the United States." I have never really thought of this phrase as being arrogant, but it is. It is no different than the arrogance of the Pharisee in this parable. God's satisfaction with me is not proven by the amount spiritual blessing in my life. The level of His satisfaction with my life is proven by the weight of the sacrifice He asks of me.

Finally, being wealthy and following God is difficult because the price of saying yes to God becomes really expensive. The rich young ruler failed his test because he was unwilling to sell all he had to follow after Christ. Had he been a poor man he would have gladly set what little he had aside to follow Jesus. I fall into the same trap. The comforts of my life are hard to walk away from. My kids are in a great school. I belong to a vibrant church. I have a comfortable income. Our health care system is top-notch. Everything I need is at my finger tips and is mostly available to me. If God were to ask me to sell it all and follow Him the price tag would be high and the choice would be hard.

Pray:

This chapter makes it clear that the wealth I have in my life serves as a huge stumbling block to being obedient to Your call on my life. I do not want the things I appreciate about my life to become the things that cost me my life with You. I ask that You forgive my arrogance. I have judged myself blessed above the poor and that is a sin.

What I have I offer to You this morning I give to You. From where I am as best I can I say to You I am willing to follow You anywhere. I pray for the desperation I need in my spirit to pray bigger prayers. I ask that You open my hands to freely sacrifice for the poor of the world and that Your Kingdom would be so real and tangible in my life that will be able to count the cost of saying yes to You as being cheap.