Who is your God?
Mark 10:17-27
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 “You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. 23 And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 “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.” 26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “aWith people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
Have you ever tried to thread a needle for clothing repair? It is a difficult task for young eyes and extremely difficult for old eyes. When gamla from the Aramaic is translated into “rope” instead of “camel,” the parable about the needle makes perfect sense. It is difficult to thread a needle with a rope, even a big needle. It will be even more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, if, and that is huge if, the rich man does not use his God-given wealth to help the poor or if the rich man obtains his wealth at the cost of other people. A tithe goes to the church. After that, the LORD expects Almsgiving. When one has wealth that can be used for Almsgiving and does not, Yeshua says that person will not enter heaven.
The church has abused this passage for centuries. First, it is a conversation between Yeshua and a man. Yeshua’s answer to the question of eternal life was correct for the man He was speaking with. It is not an answer that is supposed to be universal. However, the church uses it universally. The church likes to say that money is a bad thing. Wait a minute, how much is the Catholic church worth, not just Vatican City?
Bankers estimate that the Vatican alone is worth between ten and fifteen billion dollars, and probably, even more, that does not include the buildings in the Vatican. The Vatican has enormous investments in Italy and other places in the world. If the local churches are added, this number will skyrocket. Who knows what the actual value of the Catholic church is because there are holdings of the church outside the Vatican.
How can the church say that wealth is bad for the individual, but church wealth is good? This is a hypocritical position. Does the Vatican accept the western view of Yeshua about rich men while being rich itself? Sure appears that way? The wealth that comes from the LORD and is used to help people is good wealth. The wealth that oppresses and extorts people and is not used to help the poor is terrible. How you obtain your wealth and what you do with it either angers or pleases the LORD. The best thing to do is to satisfy the LORD.
When I was in Agua Prieta, Mexico, I had the opportunity to worship in the local Catholic church. What struck me was the large hole in the roof. Why was the hole not repaired? The priest’s answer was that the parish lacked the funds. However, during the mass, a special collection was taken for the Vatican. Why? That church could have repaired its roof with the money sent to the Vatican each week. When I was an outsider of the church, I was told that the church was only interested in my money. As a clergy person, I felt that. A Bishop in my Conference declared that all pastors had to give $100 to his mission cause. He did not ask for the money but instead demanded it. Since the Bishop has all the power, I had no choice but to write a check. That event brought back the feeling about the church being interested in my money and not my soul. This is a sad story.
One day the District Superintendent invited several clergy persons to his home. He showed us a video developed by the United Methodist Communications group about tithing. The Baltimore area Bishop was in his office making the plea. I noticed that his office was filled with Herman Miller furniture. Herman Miller manufactured top-of-the-line office furniture. In 1998 I estimated that this Bishop’s office cost at least $45,000. When I questioned the DS about this inconsistency, he did not know how to defend the Bishop.
The LORD created wealth by creating this world and everything in it. Yeshua said that the poor will always be with us. The Talmud says that the LORD created poor people so that more affluent people could help impoverished people. The church has used this passage to tell its members to give more money to the church. During the stewardship campaigns that usually land in the fall of every year, this story is used to shame members into giving more money to the church.
Sadly while the church tells its members to give more money, the church also says Yeshua does not like rich people. But the church accumulates wealth and pays big salaries to their Bishops and other high-ranking officials. As it turns out, the original meaning of this passage is about the abuse of money and obtaining wealth by hurting other people. The bottom line of all of the analysis is:
YESHUA LIKES RICH PEOPLE WHO OBTAIN THEIR WEALTH FROM THE LORD AND USES PART OF THAT WEALTH TO HELP THE POOR
This statement is the original meaning of the Rich Man story in the Gospels. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. Yeshua DID NOT tell rich people to give all their wealth away. Instead, Yeshua said, USE YOUR WEALTH to help others. The Torah says that a tithe, 10%, goes to the LORD (for Christians today, that is the church). Almsgiving follows and can go up to 35%. Almsgiving is what you can spare after the tithe and paying your bills.
So do not feel bad when you accumulate wealth because the LORD has blessed you with talents and skills. The LORD creates people who can accumulate wealth. Do not let the church tell you anything different. If the LORD gave you this talent and you obtain wealth, then be proud that you are using your God-given talents the way the LORD wants you to by taking care of your family and helping others.
May you continue to grow in your understanding of the Gospel.
