Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” – Matthew 19:23

Even as we read this verse, we must remember that the next verse is where we got the phrase, “With God, all things are possible.”

But it’s a bleak outlook for “the rich,” according to this verse. As a child, I always wondered about why this would be the case. Why would God let earthly blessings preclude entry into Heaven?

As an adult, I get it. It’s not about how much actual money you have, or how much power. It’s about how much you lean on whatever you have that makes you comfortable, or whatever keeps your eyes off Christ. Whenever you allow anything to keep you from Christ, that’s a form of idolatry because you’re making that one thing more important than the Son of God who saved you from rotting in Hell for eternity.

When Jesus spoke to that particular man, it was his riches. “Go sell everything you have and give to the poor” translates to some as, “Leave the life you built and follow Me.”

Martyred missionary Jim Eliot wrote something that later Christian music artist Twyla Paris would turn into a song I loved growing up: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Remember when you’re prioritizing your life that there’s nothing here you can take with you. Even people have to make that decision on their own. God is the only thing that lasts after the storms and struggles come through.

Choose to gain what you can’t lose, rather than the riches and accolades of this life. That doesn’t mean you can’t be succesful or rich, but it does mean you’d better keep in perspective Who made it all possible. If He asks anything of you, check your heart and follow Him. ❤️