by Francis Wanja

Created on: October 16, 2009   Last Updated: October 17, 2009

Wealthy Christians in a community of poverty.

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. Day in and day out, I have continued to be dismayed at the interpretation that some Christians have on this scripture. One Christian actually went ahead and sold all his belongings and gave them to the poor because he was convinced that the kingdom of God was only for the poor. Let us however examine the setting of this particular scripture. When the young man came to Jesus to enquire what he had to do to get into heaven, Jesus replied by telling him to obey the commandments of God to the latter. For the young man, that was the easy part for he had already steadfastly held the commandments dear to his heart. However, Jesus understanding the attachment that we human beings have on our worldly possession told the young man to sell all his wealth and give money to the poor so he could have heavenly treasures. Due to the importance of his wealth over a life of eternity in heaven, the young man walked away with a sunken spirit. This scripture does not necessarily tell us that one has to be frugal to be a good Christian, but rather warns us against placing too much importance into material wealth. Wealth being an important vessel of helping those in need in community should never be placed central to our hearts rather should be used as a means of serving the poor among us.

The issue in the contemporary world is that wealthy Christians cannot be Godly at all. Christians are viewed as broke and penniless individuals who should just look up to their father in heaven for solace, which in part is true. Money has always been equated to evil and a diametric force with Christianity. Christians with money are always stereotyped as corrupt and inconclusively accused of gaining their wealth through fishy methods. These accusers can never hear a word that these Christians say in reference to the kingdom of God, hence bogging down the commission to make disciples of all nations.
The blessings of the Lord bring wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. All wealth comes from God. If He is the giver of wealth, wouldn't He then give it to those who put their trust in Him and obey His commands?
Who then would be more worthy to receive this great gift than those who are called according to His name?
God wants us to be rich and wealthy. He does not want our wealth to possess our hearts but rather wants us to use it to serve our fellow human being. The poor will always remain with us and that is why wealthy Christians should never turn a blind eye on the plight of the poor. The watcher of watchmen will always watch over us.

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