Don’t Be Deceived!
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I have often heard people quote Jesus, in Matthew 19:24, to erroneously explain why you cannot be wealthy and be a Believer at the same time.
Matthew 19:24 says,
“Again I say to you, 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.”
The L’Oréal heiress — François Bettencourt Meyers — is a Christian. Not only that; she studied the Bible so much that she writes Bible Commentaries! That is not all! She is worth 65.2 billion dollars (October 2020 Statistics from Wikipedia)! She is officially the richest woman in the world!
François Bettencourt Meyers grew up in all this wealth, but it never made her feel invincible, or any more unworthy and undeserving of God’s grace than the rest of us! She put the wealth in its right place — as God’s blessings; and God in His place on the throne – as the source of all blessings!
Please don’t let Satan use Matthew 19:24 to convince you that the wealth you have, or have seen, disqualifies you from being a child of God.
Let us put what Jesus said in context.
READ Matthew 19:16-26
Now behold, one came and said to Him,
“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
So He said to him,
“Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said,
“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then Jesus said to His disciples,
“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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.”
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
But Jesus looked at them and said to them,
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 19:16-26 NKJV)
So someone comes to Jesus wanting to know how he would have eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. He asked which ones, and Jesus elaborated, stating a few. Then the man tells Jesus he has kept all those laws from his youth; and still asked if he lacked anything. Jesus then tells him to go sell all he had and give to the poor, and he would have treasure in heaven; then come and follow him! At this, the man became sad, turned and walked away. Then Bible commented,
“…for he had great possessions.” (vv. 22)
It was then Jesus made the statement that is often misquoted saying,
“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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.”
And when the disciples were astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus told them,
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
A few things to note here:
- The persistence of the young man in his questioning meant he knew there was a problem.
- Jesus also knew there was a problem after the young man said he had obeyed all the laws from his youth. The young man should have known that the laws Jesus mentioned were not all the laws if he had truly studied them. If he truly had, he would have had the peace of mind needed not to have even come questioning Jesus.
- In the end, his attempts to pick and choose which laws to obey were uncovered. He chose his possessions over God, which violates the first law! The first law says,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-3)
4. It was then that Jesus made the statement about rich men and heaven, camels and needles! Note that Jesus said “… hard for a rich man…” and not “…impossible for a rich man”. But He told the disciples, “…with God all things are possible.”
Therefore, the problem comes when the riches replace God on the throne of our hearts! The problem is not the riches. The problem is who we put on the throne that only God deserves!
The severity of this problem is illustrated in this statement in Matthew 6:24 where Jesus puts God and money side my side saying,
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)
If anything, riches should make you grateful to God that He counted you worthy to be wealthy!
I encourage believers to be wealthy. But the wealth should be put in the right context – AS BLESSINGS FROM GOD (Proverbs 10:22, Deut. 8:18).
We need more believers to be wealthy. We need more of François Bettencourt Meyers! Truly wealthy believers use their wealth to propagate the Gospel of Christ!
Don’t be deceived that being wealthy and being a believer don’t go together!
I look forward to an opportunity to interview François Bettencourt Meyers one day.
MEMORY VERSE
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
QUESTIONS
1. Is your wealth, or pursuit of wealth, becoming a hindrance to your commitment to God?
2. Do you know that wealth only promises the temporal, but God grants the eternal?
PRAYER TIP
Loving Father, please help us to put You on the throne of our hearts, and to put wealth in its place as Your blessings.
Written by:
BENNY MALM
For:
TESTIMONY DEVOTIONAL
URGENT CALL
By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!
But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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