2 Chronicles 14-16
And again, I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. -Jesus
Matthew 19:24
This verse makes devout American Christians tremble and stay awake at night. How can anyone with a family, job, and life expect to be considered citizens of the Kingdom of God? It doesn’t matter your income bracket; we all live in one of the wealthiest countries in history. Three quarters of a million dollars in total assets places you in the top 1% of the world. If this amount of wealth still seems like a lot, only one hundred thousand dollars places you in the top 10%. This verse appears to be the most damning verse of the Bible! Is there any hope for those born into the “lucky sperm club” of America?
A brief story may help. The year is 900 BCE and a new king has ascended the throne of Judah. King Asa inherited a kingdom recently ravaged by Egyptians and struggling in the tumultuous region. Like most young men, he is full of vinegar and tears down all the pagan idols and begins fortifying his cities. One day, a rider rushes into the court reporting a one-million-man army of Ethiopians are on the march against Judah. This is over three times the force he can muster and additionally they have companies of charioteers with them. This poor king’s only hope is to pray the Jewish version of ‘Hail-Mary’ and hope God shows up. And He does. This victory sparks 30 years of peace and progress in the kingdom.
Fast forward to the end of the King Asa’s life—he has done everything that a good king should do. He has led his people wisely, increased wealth for the kingdom, and grown in diplomatic power. So, when the rival northern kingdom of Israel marches against him, he leverages everything he has solving the problem. He makes the ‘smart’ move, buying an alliance with a strong neighboring kingdom. Through this alliance Israel is defeated. God responds by sending a prophet chastising the king for relying on a pagan king rather than Him. King Asa promptly throws the guy in prison and then dies of a foot disease, all the while refusing to turn to God.
This man’s life is a living example of Jesus’ parable about the difficulties of wealth. Wealth causes us to seek our own resources to save us. It causes us to cease asking God for help and thereby we exclude ourselves from the kingdom of God. Comparatively speaking, King Asa was always the richest man in the Kingdom, although at one point his heart was firmly fixed to God’s. What really changed was Asa’s heart. God never criticized wealth and neither does Christ. Christ is not a communist or ascetic. Christ is God in human flesh and He demands to be right in the middle of your life. God’s message to King Asa was “The eyes of the Lord roam over the whole earth, to encourage those who are devoted to Him wholeheartedly.” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
We all decide which eye to fix our gaze upon, a needle’s or God’s.
Dad Devotional 