Daily Wisdom

So Hard – Mark 10:23-25

Key Passage

Then Jesus looked at his followers and said to them, “It will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But Jesus said again, “My children, it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God! And it will be very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God! It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!”

— Mark 10:23-25 ERV (Read Full Text)

Key Thought

As the disciples processed the information they had seen and heard in Jesus’ interchange with the young man who went away sorrowfully (see the previous verses), they were shocked. Being on the poorer end of the economic scale, they assumed that the richer folks would have a better chance of making it into heaven. Jesus told them the exact opposite was true—it would be harder for those who were rich to enter the Kingdom of God. This must be a sober warning to us. Most of us with access to a computer are so much better off financially than the majority of the world’s population. Yet we often focus on what we lack rather than what God has given us to use to bless others and honor him. We must not let ourselves become possessed by our possessions and our desire for them. They turn our hearts away from God and become idols which replace God in our lives.

Prayer

O Father, bless me with wisdom, generosity, and a passion for your work as I seek to use “my” financial and material blessings to honor you and bring others closer to you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Related Scriptures

It is true that serving God makes a person very rich, if that person is satisfied with what he has. When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we can take nothing out. So, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. People who want to become rich bring temptations to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them. Those things ruin and destroy people. The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the {true} faith (teaching) because they want to get more and more money. But they have caused themselves to be very, very sad.
1 Timothy 6:6-10

Give this command to the people who are rich with the things this world has. Tell them not to be proud. Tell those rich people to hope in God, not their money. Money cannot be trusted. But God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy. Tell the rich people to do good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. And tell them to be happy to give and ready to share. By doing that they will be saving a treasure for themselves {in heaven}. That treasure will be a strong foundation —their future life can be built on that treasure. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19

“No servant can serve two masters at the same time. The servant will hate one master and love the other. Or he will be loyal to one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and Money at the same time.”
Luke 16:13

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