StreetDeacon wrote:Well, in Mathew 19:16-22, he pretty much tells the man that he has to sell all of his stuff, and give the money to the poor. Doing that, the man will no longer be rich. Maybe God has no intention for anyone to be rich. Maybe he want's everyone to share what they have, equally. I mean Bill Gates can give 10% and still be rich. In fact, he can give 50%, or even 75% and still be rich. I don't know. I still want to know how to pass a camel through the eye of a needle, especially since it's easier to do that than for a rich man to go to heaven.
Lets look at Matthew 19:
Matthew 19:16-22
16 And behold, one came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" 17 And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to Him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself. " 20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property. NAS
Jesus listed 5 of the 10 commandments (the easier ones to keep) and added “love your neighbor”. The Jesus said “go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” The young man was obsessed with his riches. Many wealthy people allow their wealth to control them; they don’t control their wealth. Jesus put it another way in another part of Scripture:
Matt 6:23-25
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
NAS
And:
Luke 12:48
And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. NAS
Nicodemus was a wealthy man and followed Christ, so what Jesus is teaching is not that the rich cannot enter heaven He is teaching that the rich who follow Him will use their wealth to obtain treasures in heaven.
I'll tell you one thing. This has been a question of mine for a while now anyway. So I already told God that if I ever somehow became a millionaire, I would take what I needed to pay off some bills of mine and some of my families bills, and give the rest to charity. And no, I don't mess with the lotto. It's a waste.
Bill Gates has established many charitable trusts with his billions. The Rockefeller foundation, the Getty foundation, the Carnegie foundation are all charitable organizations founded by extremely wealthy people whose families are still wealthy. On the other hand how many Vanderbilt’s are still wealthy?