what is the real meaning of the bible verses matthew 19:16-24

I was listening to the radio today and the topic of discussion was “If you (meaning the radio talk show host) state that the wealth that a person accumulates is actually the wealth of the kingdom of God, can that person spend that weath frivously when they buy big houses and fancy cars”. The radio host simply answered the question by saying  “frivoulous spending can only happen of the person who is spending the money is spending it in a way the owner of the wealth does not want it to be spent. He then decided to prove his point by stating the bible verses Matthew 16-24 which is the pariable of Jesus speaking to a rich man on how to get to heaven. When the rich man asked Jesus what was the best way to get to heaven, Jesus basically told him to sell all of his poessions and give the proceeds to the poor and needy. the rich man walked away with his head down because he felt that he ws not willing to part with his possessions. Jesus then states that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven. It was in that instant that I finally understood the misunderstanding  most people have of that scripture.

I feel that I am now obligated to explain the true meaning of that particular scripture in the bible. First of all, let’s begin with this, when you as a lay person, read the bible it is bset that you not only read the reddomended verses, it is best to read the entire paragraph that the verse is contained in order to get a better understanding of the verese that you were assigned to read. You should thern also  try to research the history of the times that the passage refers to and then apply the lesson to today’s life. If the person who called into the radio show or even the radio host were to actually read the entire paragraph as well as know th history of the days of the bible before the cruxifixation of Jesus, they would know that it was widely believed that the bigger and more expensive the offering to the temple the easier it would be to get into heaven. So it was thought that you could “buy” your way into heaven. Also as you can see, by that train of thought a wealthy man has more money ansd therefore if he makes his offerings correctly he would be guranteed his ticket into the pearly gates. Also during this time the city of Jureselam had a big wall surrounding it, that was much like the great wall of China, for its own protection just like most of the big and important cities of the day. At night the city would close the huge gates that people would travel through in order to come and go through the city. If a person wanted to enter the city after nightfall they had to enter through a door  that was litterally called “the eye of a needle” because it was smaller and had a very narrow passageway. In order for a camel to pass through ”the eye of a needle” , (camels were the mode of transportation in that time) you would have to unpack all of its packages and enven then it was a tight fit through the passageway. So when Jesus makes the statement that is is harder for a rich man to enter into heaven that it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle he was actually referring to the door “the eye of a needle” and not an actual eye of a needle.

Second of all, Jesus was referring to that particular man because he had the ability to look into that man’s heart and realized that the rich man had is personal identity tied to his wealth. The man did not want to give up his wealth because he thought he was nothing and noone with out it. He was not able to trust in the grace and mercy of God to protect him and make him somebody of value and welcome him into heaven. 

Wealth has nothing to do with how you get into heaven. King David was one of the wealthiest men on the plant earth yet the bible says that he was a man dear to God’s heart. Jacob was the wealthiest man in his region and after his redemption he became wealthier and still 5 times over. You may think I am a person who is well off writing this blog, but actually I am a person who lives off of about $1700per month with a husband and three children in the household as well. So you see it doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, it is by works of grace and acts of faith that get you into heaven 

Today I Cried On The Inside

Today I cried on the inside because I have came to the understanding that my husband does not have the ability to think ahead about the future. Sure he is a pretty intelligent person otherwise, he is well liked at work, and everyone thinks of him as a rather upstanding individual, but when it comes to planning for the future of our family he is at a standstill.

We have been married for almost ten years and in that ten years we have absolutely accomplished nothing besides making babies. We have no savings, we have no plan for raising the  children, nor do we have a plan on how we are going to help them go off to college once they graduate from school. We still live in a 2 bedroom apartment with three children. When I try to approach him and tell him that we need a budget in order to start saving for a downpayment for a home, he agrees to it but when it comes down to the planning and the execution he is not willing to commit. When I tell him that we need a rule guide for the children to follow concerning the chores and just daily living in order to become good citizens of the world, he agrees with what I say but once again when it comes to the execution, I am left standing on my own. I don’t understand the reason behind this because when he is at work he is very competent and decisive man. He usually makes the right call but in our personal life he tends to defer to other things instead of what is important.

I don’t know what to do. When I try to tell him how I feel I look at his face and stop short of telling what is really in my heart because I don’t want to hurt his feelings. He does not think that I care about him because we arew not as close as we used to be but, I really do care. The fact that I feel as if he places other things and other people before me as his wife has really put a damper on the relationship. How can a woman keep her sanity when she is married to a man whom she cannot trust with her truest emotions, her deepest feelings, her greatest wants and desires in life, her true self? I don’t know what I am supposed to do so I did what I always do. Today I cried on the inside and tomorrow I will do the same.