The Danger of Riches : Luke 18:24-25 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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The Danger of Riches - Luke 18:24-25

When Jesus saw that the man was sad, he said, "It will be very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God! It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!" (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

While material riches can be a great blessing and can be used to bless many in need and to do great things for the Kingdom, they can also be a trap to many of us. The Gospel of Luke lets us hear Jesus teach repeatedly about the danger of riches. Jesus' point here is that riches can be an incredible danger to the heart of believers. This young man is the living example of this danger. As the apostle Paul warned, greed and a desire for riches can become idolatry and destroy us. Let's make sure that every area of our lives, including our use of wealth, is yielded to the Lordship of Jesus.

Today's Prayer

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Father, thank you for your many rich blessings. Help me use these blessings to your glory. I do not want anything to interfere with my total devotion to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

A {Jewish} leader asked Jesus, "Good teacher, what must I do to get the life that continues forever?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. {But I will answer your question.} You know {God's} commands: 'You must not do the sin of adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal anything, you must not tell lies about other people, you must honor (respect) your father and mother….' " But the leader said, "I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy!" When Jesus heard this, he said to the leader, "But there is still one more thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor people. You will have a reward in heaven. Then come and follow me!" But when the man heard this, he was very sad. The man was very rich {and wanted to keep his money.} When Jesus saw that the man was sad, he said, "It will be very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God! It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!" When the people heard this, they said, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus answered, "God can do things that are not possible for people to do!" Peter said, "Look, we left everything we had and followed you!" Jesus said, "I tell you the truth. Every person that has left his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for God's kingdom will get much more than he left. That person will get many times more in this life. And after that person dies, he will live with God forever."

— Luke 18:18-30 (ERV)

Comments on "The Danger of Riches":

Jesus put his hands on her. Then she was able to stand up straight. She praised God. The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. The leader said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come to be healed on one of those days. Don't come for healing on the Sabbath day." The Lord (Jesus) answered, "You people are hypocrites ! All of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day--even on the Sabbath day ! This woman that I healed is our Jewish sister. But Satan (the devil) has held her for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be made free from her sickness on a Sabbath day!" When Jesus said this, all the men that were criticizing him felt ashamed of themselves. And all the people were happy for the wonderful things Jesus was doing. Then Jesus said, "What is God's kingdom like? What can I compare it with? God's kingdom is like the seed of the mustard plant. A person plants this seed in his garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree. The birds build nests on its branches." Jesus said again, "What can I compare God's kingdom with? It is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough (bread) rise."
Luke 13:13-21 (ERV)

It is true that serving God makes a person very rich, if that person is satisfied with what he has. When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we can take nothing out. So, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. People who want to become rich bring temptations to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them. Those things ruin and destroy people. The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the {true} faith (teaching) because they want to get more and more money. But they have caused themselves to be very, very sad.
1 TImothy 6:6-10 (ERV)

So put all evil things out of your life: sexual sinning, doing evil, letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil, and selfishly wanting more and more. This wanting really means to live serving a false god.
Colossians 3:5 (ERV)

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