There is an old preacher story about a lady who invested in a Ponzi scheme. Having lost all her money, she phoned the Better Business Bureau to ask for advice on how she could recover her money. The man sympathised with her but said that it was impossible to recover anything for her. Then he asked, “Why didn’t you call us before you invested the money?” She said sheepishly, “Oh, I thought about that, but I was afraid you would talk me out of it.” Too many Christians have suffered the miseries of being in financial straits to dismiss the power of money. If given the choice, they would always take ‘too much’ over ‘just enough’; despite what Jesus says. If Christians did not believe that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing, they wouldn’t admire it so much; and less would they envy it.So, we ask, “Can I be rich and go to heaven?” Biblically, the answer is, “Yes, of course! But…”“…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” (Lk.18:25). Don’t kid yourself, those listening to Jesus believed the same as people believe today: ‘Rich Christians are blessed by God.’ Up to this point, these listeners shared this one conviction: ‘The Rich Young Ruler was enjoying the riches promised in the Old Testament.’ But, if Jesus wasn’t willing to give this righteous rich man ‘a camel’s chance…,’ then what hope had they? No wonder they asked, “Then who can be saved?” We all play from the same deck. Be you rich, poor, young, old, healthy, or sick,…all you are, and all you have is for Jesus. If you have much, then much is expected. Money is a tool resulting in blessing or an idol resulting in condemnation. Riches will make you a steward, or a tin god. Only God can make a rich steward a man of God. That is why Jesus said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Lk.18:27).
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