Tuesday, September 07, 2010
One of the followers asked him, "Teacher, what good thing should I do, that I may have eternal life?"
Christ said, "Why do you ask me about the good? One exists is who is good. But if you would enter into life, keep the commandments." He asked, "Which?" And Jesus said, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness."
"Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
The young man then said, "I have observed all of these. What do I still lack? "
Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me."
When the young man heard the saying, he was heavy hearted; for he had great possessions.
Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When the disciples heard this, they were astonished, saying, "Who can possibly be saved?"
Jesus looked upon them and replied, "For men, it is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
There has sprung up a Biblical "urban legend" that the "eye of the needle" was a narrow gate in Jerusalem, used after hours; in some versions a camel can get through it, only when all packs have been removed and it crawls on its knees; in others, such a large animal cannot fit. Other interpreters speculate, with more foundation, that the word is a misprint of "rope" (kamelos in Greek), camel being kamilos.
More likely, Christ's words mean exactly what they sound like when first heard. A number of Hebrew sources use a needle and a large animal (usually an elephant) as an outlandish metaphor for impossibility. It seems to be Christ's style to make occasional examples a bit ludicrous; who hasn't wondered at the image of a person with a "beam" or even a "tree" in his own eye, criticizing the speck in someone else's?
I have always wondered if this passage was supposed to be a bit humorous; the picture of the young man's face falling when Christ tells him to give everything away — "for he had great possessions" — has always made me chuckle.
As in many parts of the Bible, a side-effect of seeking God is increased happiness. In part, of course, the modern concept of "happiness" hardly existed in ancient times. It is the antidote for the modern ego; people feel guilty about accomplishing something "meaningful" in their lives, and it seems to go too far much of the time as expectations among people in higher socio-economic strata become neurotic and narcissistic about their accomplishments in life.
People with enough money to meet their expectations do tend to be happier than those who do not, and truly poor people do tend to be unhappy. But there is no shortage of miserable people driving new Mercedes or even jet aircraft, nor of people with simple material lives being truly content. As Christ said, it is certainly within God's power to bring a phenomenally rich person into his kingdom.
But in modern Western life, expectations of gaining material wealth during one's life is greater than it has ever been. Materialism has attracted its own cult, with bumper stickers like "Whoever dies with the most toys, wins." Worrying about money beyond our basic needs, or filling our minds with striving for ever more material wealth, is a major bar to knowing God. The Bible is full of warnings, such as "Love of money is the root of all evil" and especially the profound passage in Matthew 6:22-34, the "birds of the field" lesson.
If you want to find Christ, grow out of the neurosis that tells you an expensive new car is going to make you happy. It is a lie, a fire that feeds on itself. There is a joke: "What do you call a man who has 100 million dollars?" Answer: "A frustrated billionaire". In these cases, desire for material possessions is replaced with an even more bizarre desire for huge, meaningless amounts of money; the sin of gluttony is replaced by the sin of pride, since such people cannot possibly spend the money they have. Increased wealth is drive by lust for power or prestige. Some of the wealthiest people in the world have modest personal tastes, notably Samuel Walton and Warren Buffett. Ironically, they end up seeking fame for their charitable giving!
| provided by elogicwebsolutions.com |
