Extra Baggage

“I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19: 23 – 24)

A rich man is one who possesses a lot of money and every type of property. He gets whatever he wants that money can buy. Christ says here that it will be difficult for him to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because extraordinary wealth is most probably obtained outside God’s will. Such wealth becomes an alien god. The rich becomes attached to it and comes to rely on it instead of on God. Such wealth poses a grave danger to one’s salvation. What does it profit a man to have all the gold and silver in the world for the few years of life and lose his soul for all eternity?

What is your attitude to riches and wealth? Do you recognize God as the creator of all riches and wealth? Can you become a conduit for God’s riches for the development of God’s government and kingdom on earth? How much extra baggage are you carrying? Christ promises that the kingdom of God belongs to the poor in spirit. The poor in spirit are content because they have everything they need without carrying heavy extra baggage.