With slumped shoulders the rich, young, government leader trudged away from Jesus. He’d approached the popular Teacher from Galilee with
confidence that his offer to join the band of disciples would be readily accepted. He had so much going for him: power, influence, youth,
education and ready cash. Jesus however set the bar of self sacrifice so high in his case that he could not see himself reduced to poverty and
dependence on God for his next meal. I’m not down on wealth. It’s not how much you have but how much of you that it has. In the New Testament there
were wealthy disciples. I commend well-earned wealth. Like the things money can buy but love that which money can’t buy. How come this eager
aspirant turned away? Simple yet challenging: riches were the real basis for his security.
Many talk of their faith in God but they do it as a luxury paid for by a fat bank balance, or even out of having a little more than
sufficient on which to live. As he departed Jesus said of him to the awestruck disciples: "It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Instead of saying: "oh, in that case we’re glad we are so poor." They replied: "Who
then can be saved?" It’s a vital clue. Many of the disciples were from middle class backgrounds. By our standards they might appear poor, but by
the world averages of that time they had enjoyed the income of merchants, business owners and government officials. The extreme disparities in
wealth distribution on earth in 2005 were unknown back then.
Here’s a 3 year old report by the world bank: "The income differences among citizens of the world are absolutely huge. Far higher
than conventional measures indicate. 1% of people in the world receive as much as the total income of the bottom 57%; in other words the income of
the less than 50 million rich people is equal to that of the 2.7 billion poor."
Yeah, but what does that really mean? Put it this way: although most people on earth earn something, when you try to compare it in
percentage points 66% of people (the poor) have just about zero income, and 34% (the rich) divide the entire income of the world among
themselves. That the world has no middle class is concerning.
Allow me to help if you are still not sure where you fit into this picture. I take it I’m writing to someone in the capitalist, Western
world. Here in the US and in Europe we talk of minimum wage or the "poverty line." Earning below that makes you eligible for welfare help.
By that standard 78% of everyone on earth would qualify. What if we artificially created a world middle class? It can be done this way: Take
all those earning above the "Western" subsistence level but just less than the average income of one of the poorest countries in Europe, you’d
be describing only 11 out of every 82 "rich" people alive today. Did the world have a bigger middle class? Yes. It was in Russia and Eastern
Europe but the draining away of their "real" income in the last 20 years shrank their numbers. So I’m sounding a warning to the "rich" readers.
Ah, but you don’t feel rich do you? Like one millionaire, when asked how much was enough money, you’d say of your income: "a little bit
more than now." Remember that even in the poor countries the worship of the power that money can buy is a life derailing temptation. In the
country of the blind the one eyed man is king! Poor, by western standards, doesn’t mean free of greed.
Jesus answered the amazed disciples’ question. He said " with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible (even a difficult
thing like this!)" Any time that you have placed your faith in the padding of money stashed away for a "rainy day" you have ventured into a
realm of selfishness known only to a small percentage of earth’s population. If unchecked, that attitude can rob you of eternity. This
isn't about how much you have. This is about how much of you God has. Is relationship with your Creator the foundation of your life?